What Do You Want From Me?
by rabbitx14
Summary: Jacob stopped Bella just as she was going to jump in New Moon, Edward is in the Volturi and the Volturi are out for Bella's blood. Will Jacob be able to save her? Will Edward be the hero and who will Bella want when all is said and done?
1. Prologue

**What Do You Want From Me?**

**By: Rabbitx14**

_So, this is my second attempt at a Twilight fan fiction; first of which has multiple chapters. I was inspired while watching New Moon on my laptop a few days ago. Bella is standing on the cliff about to jump in New Moon when she is given the option to jump, knowing exactly how her life will pan out or take on the future not knowing and not jump. This is a Bella/Jacob fan but for you Edward fans, he will be an important character as the story pans out. Please read and reply. I could use any of the insight anyone may have!_

_I don't own anything other than the mystery character. She's all mine. Everything else belongs to Miss Stephenie._

* * *

I was standing at the top of the cliff, looking down into the blue abyss as the wind tousled my brown hair. Had I lost my mind? I wondered if I truly had - the whole reason I was up here was because it was the only way for me to hear his perfect voice. I needed the danger. For the pack, this was as easy as eating a pound of eggs - I, however, wasn't a werewolf so this was pretty much suicide.

I wondered if it was worth it and figured that it probably was. I didn't care - I couldn't see myself living in a world where I couldn't see his face. Jacob - I knew he probably loved me; but I also knew it wouldn't last. I was just a teenage crush - everyone knows those don't last. Edward, he was over a hundred years old - his love for me... No, that didn't last either. He left me. He didn't want me. Regardless, I had to see him - to feel him close to me.

I stood closer to the edge and took a deep breath. I could feel Edward's presence. I could hear his smooth voice pleading with me to stop. This was my new heaven.

"I would think twice before you do that, Bella."

My head snapped to look behind me as my body followed suit. A tall, woman stood before me - maybe 17 or 18 years old. Her hair was like the delicate feathers of a raven, her skin a delicate mix of copper and that of the "pale faces", her eyes a beautiful chocolate brown. She reminded me of Jacob. Her body was very different from mine. She reminded me of Xena - narrow waist and wide, Amazon-like hips with broad strong shoulders and thick powerful thighs. Her outfit consisted of a brown camouflage bikini top and knee length jean shorts. What caught my attention the most was the tattoo on her right arm - it was the symbol of the Quileute pack.

"You don't realize the choice you're about to make," she whispered - her voice strong, "you're standing at the biggest cross roads of your life right now and you don't even know it."

I looked at her in amazement. What was she talking about?

"Who are you?"

She smiled at me with the same confident grin Jake always gave me, "Alice Cullen - her visions are subjective. The future can change with the simple decisions we make in our lives."

"How do you...."

"Oh, Bella," her voice sang, "you're such a curious little kitten. I know because I stayed with them for quite some time."

"Why?" I demanded, "Who are you?"

"That is not important. I am here for show you your life if you don't jump from this cliff."

"And if I do jump?"

She frowned, "then it's simple. Alice has a vision of you jumping, assumes you are dead and comes rushing back. Rosalie tells Edward who then goes to the Volturi to die. You save him. You get married; have a daughter named Reneseme, who is a hybrid - half human and half vampire. You nearly die while in labor and your husband saves you by making you a vampire and you all live happily ever after."

I blinked at her. I was at a loss for words. I would be with Edward forever - just as I want to be. Then why is she concerned if I jump?

"And if I don't?"

She grinned, "That's why I'm here; to show you the white side of the ying yang."

"No offense but I think you've..."

"Lost my mind?" She smirked as she began to walk towards the cliff, "I'm not crazy but I'm also not really here per say and neither are you - well, you are but in reality, you're staring at the water while I talk to you."

I looked at her in complete disbelief. None of this was making sense.

"I took over your mind. It's an ability I have," she looked at me and sighed, "When I leave here today, you'll remember only part of why you made the decision you did but the details will be blurry."

"Are you a vampire?"

"Yes and no," she looked at her tattoo and then back at me, "my name is Rayne. I am the first of my kind. I was born human. My father is a Quileute shape-shifter from another time. In the midst of a war, a vampire bit me and normally, that would kill my kind but instead, like a human, I was turned into a vampire. Since I had already begun phasing, the ability came along with me. I have the strength and power of both the wolf and the cold ones."

I laughed out load. This was complete insanity. Although, I had to admit that I was curious as to what my life would be like if I didn't jump. What other life was out there for me?

I looked down at the water then at this woman and sighed.

"Show me."

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_And there you have it. That is the prologue. Please let me know what you think so far _


	2. Chapter 1: The Choice Has Been Made?

_Let me start off by saying wow… I can't believe the response this story is getting. The amount of people who have put this on story alert and on their favorite lists… it's incredible so THANK YOU._

_A little note before I continue with the story, some days I will be able to get things out faster than others. I do the majority of my writing on my blackberry and it usually depends on how my son decides to behave in a day. Since he started teething, he's been sleeping in my arms a lot during the day so it usually gives me a chance to write._

_The reason for the whole "choice" concept – someone asked me about it in a PM… to me, the Twilight Saga was all about choices. I have often believed that's what life is all about as well. I chose the cliff-jumping scene because to me, that is where the story could have gone either way._

_I don't own anything other than the mystery character. She's all mine. Everything else belongs to Miss Stephenie._

**Chapter One:  
The Choice Has Been Made**

The sun poured into my window like a heavenly heating blanket. I sat up in my bed and looked around my room. Nothing changed. I allowed by body to lie back down and I struggled to remember the night before. The last thing I could remember was standing on the cliff - I guess I decided not to jump after all.

_"Be happy."_ I heard his velvet voice whisper.

I paused and slowly sat up. I felt different somehow. The hole in my heart was... it was gone. His voice... It almost left a bitter taste in my mouth. A new wave of feelings crashed into me that I never imagined I could feel. I was no longer missing Edward - in fact, I found myself to be angry with him and what he had done to me.

I pulled the sheets off me and walked into the bathroom. A shower would help me sort through my mind. I was no longer in love with the man I once thought I could never live without. Somehow, I found that comforting. However, I knew I would always love him - nothing could fully take him from his place in my heart.

I was still on my spring break so I wouldn't be going to school. I walked into my room wondering where I was going to spend my day when I saw the Amazon woman standing by the window with that smirk on her face.

"I can see you here?" I asked confused

"I told you that I was taking over your mind. Right now, if Charlie came in he would think you were crazy because you would be talking to your window. I am simply guiding you through your choices that change the course of your life," she said with such certainty, "that's why you have no memory of yesterday at the cliff."

I sat down on the chair at my desk, "Do you?"

She nodded, "Jacob found you as you were getting ready to jump. Roughly when I found you. You two got into an argument and both of you stormed off. As it stands right now, neither of you are on speaking terms."

"I must've said something about Edward," my voice was low, "he probably had enough."

Rayne nodded again, "Precisely. He will be at Harry Clearwater's funeral though."

My head shot up and I felt my eyes bulge out of my head, "Harry Clearwater?! What happened? When?!"

Her face looked grim, "He suffered a heart attack yesterday around the time you were planning to jump."

"Oh god," I whispered, "Charlie and Billy must be completely destroyed."

"They are," she walked up to me and placed to fingers under my chin - she felt a few degrees colder than me and her skin was hard like the Cullen's but still had the soft texture of a humans, "now, Bella, you are on your own from this point on. Live your life as it was meant to be lived."

I nodded and thought about what she just said. A few seconds later my head shot up and I looked at her in complete confusion. Live my life? I thought....

"You tricked me!" I shouted as I leaped from my seat. I could feel the furry build in my bones.

"Did I, Bella? I simply intervened, as I was meant too," she whispered, "Your subconscious mind chose this fate for you. You knew what would happen and you know what would happen if you didn't. You could have ignored me and jumped and everything I said would have come to pass. You decided that wasn't what you wanted. Now it is up to you to decide what will conspire from this moment on. It isn't always as simple as it may seem. My dad would always tell me that at every crossroads you face in life, you have two choices; both can alter your life in drastic ways."

"Who is your dad?"

She smirked and shook her head, "That will all come to light, if that path is chosen that is."

She moved towards the window and sighed deeply. She turned to me and for the first time, I saw a slight resemblance to me in her. I quickly shook it off. I smiled softly in appreciation.

"Good luck, Isabella Swan."

With that, she leaped through my window and ran towards the forests. In the distance, I heard a faint howl and I smiled. Despite the unfortunate events, which would take place, I saw today as the start of the rest of my life.

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_This is short, I know. I really dislike having short chapters but this was the best place for me to cut it off at. Please read and review!!!_


	3. Chapter 2: Revelations and Discoveries

_**Two chapters in one night, aren't you guys lucky! I had up until this point already written before I posted the prologue, so it was only a matter of editing, re-writing and changing things around. I can almost guarantee that there won't be another twice in one night update for a long time. **_

_**This chapter changes the entire course of where you might think Bella's mind is. It also starts setting the tone for the rest of it. I am still focusing on the main topic of 'choice' here, so don't forget that **_____

_**For the record, I googled Forks for the name of the Funeral Home. I figured I might as well try to keep is somewhat similar to the real town.**_

_**I don't own anything, everything is property of Mrs. Stephenie. **_

**Chapter Two:  
Revelations and Discoveries**

The drive to the Mount Olympus, the only funeral house in the area, was an awkward one. The entire pack was going to be there and I knew the majority of them hated me. Especially right now - knowing Jacob, he probably phased after our fight and by now, the whole pack would know about it.

I pulled into the parking lot and felt my heart sink when I saw the red rabbit parked beside Charlie's cruiser. Jacob would be with Charlie and Bill, no doubt. Not remembering our fight made it all the more difficult. I sighed and pulled into the space beside the VW. I sat in my truck for a moment, wondering what I was going to say to Jacob. I shook my head - in the back of mind, I silently prayed he wouldn't acknowledge I was there.

I walked inside and glanced around the room in search of Charlie. Sure enough, he was sitting in the second row behind Sue and her and Harry's two teenage children, Seth and Leah; as were Jacob and Billy. I sighed heavily and walked towards them - Charlie needed me. If I focused on that, I would be ok. I think.

"Hey dad," I said quietly as a took a seat beside him, "how you holding up?"

He didn't answer. He didn't have too; the solemn look on his face said it all.

The service was simple but nonetheless beautiful. My dad and Billy both engaged the gathering with humorous stories about their many fishing trips. Seth Clearwater also spoke of his father – well, he did the best he could. He broke down in the middle of his eulogy. My heart broke for him. Although I could barely remember him from my summers spent in Forks, I remembered that he was the most sweet and caring individual. It was very hard not to adore Seth.

Following the service was the wake, which was to be held at the Black residence back in La Push - the Clearwater's had opted for a private burial before the wake. Honestly, it was a bit of a relief since cemeteries generally gave me the creeps. Charlie decided it would be best to go with Billy to his place to help Emily finish with the preparations, so they took the cruiser.

I walked to my truck and noticed that the red rabbit was already gone. I sighed in relief; Jacob had followed Charlie and Billy to La Push, meaning I would be safe for a little while.

"Hey Bells," Jacob's husky voice whispered as I approached the door to my truck, causing me to jump back in surprise, "do you mind if I catch a ride with you? Embry decided to steal my car."

I nodded and for whatever reason, I found myself unable to form a single word. Apparently, Jacob found something amusing about it.

We drove to La Push in silence. Jacob became jittery the moment he sat beside me - it was rather out of character for the confident teenager I knew. As we approached the border of La Push, I groaned in frustration. Things were usually so easy, so natural with Jacob and at that moment they seemed to be impossible.

Jacob's light chuckle instantly soothed my nerves, "You alright there, Bells?"

I nodded and found myself enjoying a low chuckle, "Yeah. I just hate there being so much tension between us. It's not how we're supposed to be."

He nodded, "Bells, I said something's I didn't mean to say. I was just... angry. I've loved spending time with you these past few months but finding out that you were using me as a way to hear _him _was devastating. I honestly believed you liked spending time with me."

I glanced over at him and saw the tears that were threatening to flow from his eyes. It was at that moment the memories came flooding back...

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**Flashback**

I stared down at the water - my heart in my throat. _Turn around and go home, Bella. Think of Charlie._ His voice was like thorns in the back of my mind. Although it confused me - his voice was usually music to my ears, I ignored it. I closed my eyes and the very second I went to leap off by back foot, something scotching hot wrapped around my waist and threw me back into the dirt.

"What the hell are you doing?!" The voice belonged to Jacob, "Why are you trying to kill yourself? How selfish could you be!?"

I looked up at him; his face was just a few inches from mine. A sudden rush flew through me and I found myself tempted to kiss him. I quickly dismissed that idea. It would ruin everything and, well, it wouldn't be fair to Jake. He deserved better then what I could ever give him. I quickly looked away from his burning gaze before I did something I knew I would regret.

"I wasn't trying to kill myself, Jake, I was," I looked up at the russet warrior who only wanted to protect me and sighed heavily, I knew this was going to destroy him, "I was trying to hear him."

"Hear who?" He looked at me confused then it dawned on him.

He went from confused to furious and trembling in a matter of seconds, "You have got to be kidding me!"

He was now a good five feet away from me. I wasn't sure if it was in disgust, safety or a bit of both. His face was relatively easy to read - he was furious beyond belief but also... hurt. I lowered my head and just stared at the dirt beneath my body. Tears began to welt in my eyes. I hated hurting Jacob and seemed to be the only thing I did lately.

"That's why you wanted to fix the bikes up. The adrenaline..."

His eyes burned into my skull as his trembling got worse. I nodded and he looked away from me. For some reason, the trembling ceased.

"Why am I not surprised you used me, Bella," this time the tears were in his eyes.

Bella. He hasn't called me Bella since... Well, I'm not quite sure. I've always been 'Bells' to him. He was my best friend and I have always been deathly afraid of losing him - and I knew at that moment that fear was a reality. I'd lost him.

"Jake," I had to break the silence, "I..."

He held up his hand to silence me, "Don't Bella. I'm done with this. My pack and I have risked our lives to protect you from a vampire that wants you dead because of Edward. He left you, saying he didn't want you anymore and knowing Victoria was out for blood, he left you lying in the forest open for an attack."

I went to say something but I was once again cut off by him. His body was trembling again but this time it wasn't from the risk of phasing. He was in tears and it was almost impossible for him to keep it hidden from me.

"He gave up on you. Moved on without you and you still can't let him go."

He leaned down in front of me and lifted my face so he could see me. His tenderness was incredible - I could feel the love he has for me and I longed for more.

"There is nothing I wouldn't do for you, Bella," his voice was low and soft - sending a welcomed shiver down my spine, "but I can't do this anymore. I can't keep trying help someone who doesn't want it. It's obvious you'd rather have a life in the past and that's fine; but do not expect me to be a part of it anymore."

Jacob was now standing in front of me with a conflicted look on his face, "I could wait eternity for you to realize I'm the one who can give you everything you dream of. I may not be rich but I have a lot of heart. I could handle seeing you in the arms of another, I could handle you breaking my heart everyday but I cannot and will not handle being used."

He leaned down and lightly brushed his lips against mine in the most tender kiss.

"Goodbye, Bells," his voice cracked, "I'll miss you."

He was gone. I closed my eyes tightly as the tears broke through my eyes. I could hear a heartbroken howl crush the sound of my tears. Somewhere in his beautiful russet wolf, was crying.

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**Present Time**

"You were right," I whispered softly and Jacob's head snapped to look at me in disbelief, "I was trying to hold onto him so hard because I didn't know how to live my life with so much... freedom."

"What are you talking about?"

To be honest, I didn't even know. It was like I was having an epiphany and Jacob was seeing me through it. Just as he had seen me through everything when Edward left. He was my ray of warm sunshine. It was with this thought that made me wonder if what I once thought of my relationship with Edward was nothing more than a distorted reality?

"With Edward... I had no life. Everything was centered around him," I sighed barely noticing I was trembling and tears were threatening to break free, "School, work, when I was home, when I saw my friends… I guess when he left it felt like I had nothing. I became so used to him being everything I knew that I lost myself. Most people would love to discover that freedom again. I feared it, I guess. I just didn't know what to do."

Jacob looked at me and I swear I noticed a glimmer of hope in his eyes. He was about to say something when a howl broke the silence. Jacob shot a look at me and no words needed to be spoken; I knew what it meant. I quickly pulled the truck over to the side of the road and Jacob leaped from the truck with grace.

"It's Sam! There's a coven of vamps moving it," Embry seemed to come out of nowhere, "there's six or seven. They're moving up First Beach."

Jacob shouted back to the truck, "I'll meet you at my place! Keep an eye on my dad and Charlie!"

He stopped and ripped the door of my truck open and before I knew what was happening, he crushed his lips against mine and rested his head against mine. Without another word, he was gone.

I sat there, unsure of what to think. Jacob looked at me like it could be the last time he would see me. It was almost as if he was holding onto me in desperation – even if he was only like that for a few seconds.

I shook my head, trying to figure out these new feelings coursing through my body. I raced to the Black residence as fast as my truck could carry me. When I got to my destination, things carried on as if they were normal - well, as normal as a wake could be. Paul and Jared were sitting outside, protecting the guests while making it look as if they were simply reminiscing. As soon as I stopped the truck, Jared ran over.

"There's a coven on First Beach heading towards the heart of La Push," he spoke quickly in a hushed tone, "Sam was saying he saw seven of them. Apparently there are not many known covens with that many."

I froze. Seven vampires in a single coven; I know of one. Just as things began falling back together my life was being torn into shreds.

"The Cullen's," I choked out

Jared looked at me, anger in his eyes then at Paul. He called out to Emily who helped me out of the truck. I was shaking bad. My nerves were probably shot - with no surprise. As we headed towards the door, I saw Jacob and Sam heading towards us. Behind them was the family I never dreamed I would see again. The Cullen's were here; but for whatever reason, they broke the treaty. They were open for attack yet it was the pack, which were bringing them forward.

My eyes shot to Jacob, he looked almost dead. It was as if the light inside him went out. My eyes then searched the Cullen's for Edward - but he wasn't there. If Edward wasn't here, then why on Earth would Jacob have that look on his face?

"Bella," Sam called out, motioning to me to come over to them, "Dr Cullen has been searching for Charlie for some time. He wanted to express his..."

"Oh my god, Bella!" Alice's velvet voice sang out as her hard body crashed into mine, the Cullen's all looking at me like they had seen a ghost, "I thought you were dead! I saw you jump off the cliff and..."

I blinked at her and I remembered everything Rayne had said to me. My head became a jumbled mess. I backed away from Alice shaking. Jacob took notice to this and rushed to my side, wrapping his arms around me. I pulled away from him and tears began to pour from my eyes.

"No," I began to sob, "This isn't happening."

"Bella..." Alice approached me and Jacob stood in front of me, causing her to hiss, "Back off dog."

"No!" Jacob barked back at her, "Tell her why you're here, and then get off our lands before we decide that the treaty is broken."

Carlisle stepped forward. Jacob let him pass him and he laid a cold yet gentle hand on my shoulder, "I am sorry we had to come and find you this way. We came here to ask for your help in a rather urgent matter."

"No!" I shouted again, as the wolves tried to calm me down so that those inside for the wake wouldn't be aware of the commotion, "This wasn't supposed to happen! You said my choice was already made!"

Everyone looked at me like I was crazy and honestly, could I blame them?

"Bells, who are you talking too?" Jacob asked me softly

"Bella," Rosalie snapped, ignoring Jacob's attempt to question me, all eyes looking turning to her, "Edward joined the Volturi."

-------

_Longest chapter to date and it ends with a cliffy! A lot is going to be coming out in the next few chapters. Why did this New Moon incident (the Cullen's coming back and needing help at some point to help save Edward and somehow the Volturi are involved) occur when Bella didn't jump? Thing is, she DID jump. She still chose to jump. Jacob chose to intervene, which in turn, altered part of the future. How will that alter the story? Who knows lol _

_Why did Edward join the Volturi? What will Bella do about it? Since Bella decided to jump, but was stopped, is the future set in stone or is there still a chance to alter the future?_


	4. Chapter 3: We've Got To Start Somewhere

Chapter Three:  
Guess We Have Got to Start Somewhere

_So, Edward is a part of the Volturi. It will be a while before you actually see how that will affect the whole story but it will come. Now, the next chapter… I don't know what to do. I was inspired by a song that I love – I want to take it away from the story a little bit and just focus on Bella's feelings regarding Edward. I am not sure if it is going to be part of the story, it's self, but as a companion one shot. Those who have me on author alerts will be notified – if I do it as a companion one shot, I might post a "chapter" notifying that one has been posted then delete it once the real chapter four is posted. I'm not sure yet. _

_Now, I usually try to stick to the book but there was an aspect of the New Moon movie that I simply adored and I wanted to use it in here. You will all know what it is _

_For those who have reviewed, thank you. I have been making it a habit of responding to each review so if you review, you will get a response. I'm sometimes nice and give away bits of what is going to happen lol._

_You know the routine, I own nothing; everything is property of Mrs. Stephenie. _

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"He did what?" I choked out in disbelief

Carlisle Cullen sighed sadly, "I am afraid that Rosalie is correct, Edward has become a member of the Volturi."

My world was officially spinning. Up until yesterday, I may have been miserable but at least was somewhat calm. This was just too much.

Jacob must have seen me starting to fall apart; he growled at the Cullen's before locking eyes with Emmet.

"What does any of this have to do with Bella?"

Jacob's voice was cold as he stared down Rosalie. The two looked like they could go at it any second.

"We need her to save Edward," Alice whispered sadly, "Bella, he thought you were dead. The Volturi wouldn't kill him so he joined him."

This wasn't making any sense. I had been told that if I jumped then Alice would see it and...

I chose to jump. Jacob stopped me. Alice's visions are subjective to decisions made by the individual but why didn't she see Jacob? Was it because he is a werewolf? Or because it wasn't my choice? Does this mean Edward and I will be together now? On the other hand, do I still have that choice?

I shook my head and turned my back from them. I looked at the Black residence and I got hear the laughter from inside. Embry was doing well at keeping the guests oblivious to the happenings outside. I felt my heart being tugged in two directions - I could be a vampire and have a baby with Edward or I could be mortal and let myself heal properly and who knows? Maybe I could give Jacob a chance to be the one.

My mind went back to the two times Jacob had kissed me and I smiled. Edward left me, cold, heartbroken and alone; Jacob has always been there. Always by my side, protecting me, forgiving, loyal, devoted. He was my sun.

My body began to tense and tears began to fall from my eyes. This was all just too much for me. My mind was racing, my heart confused and unsure, my body aching to feel safe - I was falling apart.

A smile crept onto my face as a felt a wave of calm flow through me. I know Jasper probably blamed himself for events turning out the way they had. If anything, he should be thanked. For the first time in my life, I had complete control over my destiny.

"Thank you, Jasper," I spun around and sighed. I walked over to Alice and gave her a hug, "I missed you all horribly...."

Alice screeched and wrapped her arms around my neck while Jacob growled and harshly walked away from the gathering. I broke free from Alice's grip and ran after Jacob. I grabbed his hand and spun him around. His eyes nearly broke my heart - his heart had been shattered.

"Jake..."

"Don't," he snapped, his voice cold and almost vicious, "Go back to your precious _Cullen_. I knew that whole revelation speech in the truck was pure crap. What's even worse is that I fell for it. I am tired of being played for a fool, I'm done."

I didn't even get a chance to say anything to Jacob. He just left; I wanted to tell him the truth. I felt a cold arm on my shoulder - I grabbed it and tossed it from my shoulder hastily. I spun around and Alice was in front of me bewildered.

"NO!" I snapped my voice full of venom, "Edward abandoned me, and I will do the same."

A vicious hiss filled the area - it was Rosalie, "You stupid dog loving human! We risked everything for you and THIS is how you repay us?!"

"Rosalie!" Carlisle shouted, causing Rosalie to hesitate but eventually back down; he turned his attention to me, "Bella, I understand. You will always be considered a member of this family. If you ever need anything, do not hesitate to ask. You have my e-mail as well as Alice's. Come on now, we will leave in peace at once."

Alice looked at me with sadness in her eyes. She walked up to me and lowered her head. There was silence between us for a moment; she finally wrapped her arms around my body and held onto me for a moment. I did the same.

"You'll always be my sister, Bella," she whispered into my ear, every word sounding like a sweet song, "I understand why you don't want to help. Please be careful around here. Werewolves are not good company to keep. I can't keep an eye on you when you are around them so I expect regular e-mails from you."

"No weirdness then between us?" I asked as I pulled away from her embrace

"None," Alice said cheerfully and kissed my cheek, "Carlisle didn't want to say anything but we are returning to Forks. With Edward being part of the Volturi, we know things can happen. We want to keep an eye on you."

I nodded and smiled as Alice skittered away with her family. With the Cullen's gone, I was alone with Jared and Emily - the others, san Jacob were escorting the Cullen's to the treaty line. The two wolves looked at me - in total disbelief.

Jared chuckled, "I don't believe it! The chick that runs with vampires... she actually chose to run with the wolves!"

"I told you she would," Emily's soft voice said cheerfully, "the second I saw her in that truck I knew she was free from Edward's control."

"Pfft, I always knew blood suckers were good for nothing," Jared said causing the two of us girls to laugh, "maybe you should go find Jake."

I looked at Jared and nodded, "You're right. Maybe he went inside."

"No," Emily said quietly, "I saw him head to the garage."

I nodded at Emily in appreciation and excused myself.

As I approached the garage, I could hear a lot of growling, snarling and things being thrown around. I froze - not sure if it was the safest idea for me to go into the garage with a pissed off wolf throwing a fit. I patiently waited until the noise died down - about three minutes or so and slowly walked over to the entrance and peeked inside. Sitting with its back to me beside a now partially damaged VW Rabbit was a giant russet wolf. The sound of whimpering filled the small space - if wolves cried, I am almost certain this is what it would sound like. His heart was shattered into a million pieces; I sighed and took a few steps into the garage.

"You know you're going to be pissed at yourself later for trashing your rabbit," I figured humor was my best bet at this point, "I don't have a whole to do other then study for finals so if you want I could help you."

Jacob's massive furry head snapped around behind him and he stared at me. He tilted his head to the side and whimpered again; he then let out a wolfy sigh and lowered his head. I smiled and slowly approached him.

I placed my hand in his fur at the side of his head and rested my head on the top of his, "I'm not here to say goodbye."

Jacob whimpered loudly this time, "Y'know it would be easier to talk to you if you were man-Jake as opposed to wolf-Jake."

Jacob gently pulled away from me and ran out the door of the garage. I stood there for a moment and looked around - the place was trashed. I walked over to a shelf that once hung over his massive tool cabinet and picked up a picture that has fallen to the ground in his wolfy rampage. The frame was wooden with a howling wolf in the corner and the picture was of the two of them horsing around at First Beach a few weeks ago.

"Emily took it," Jake whispered softly as he walked up behind me, "she thought it was adorable."

I turned, startled and fumbled to put the picture down. I looked up at Jacob and that's when everything changed. Jacob's eyes widened but quickly looked away. I noticed the smile on his face and I shook my head. I suddenly felt like I was a part of Jacob; attached to him somehow. It felt electrifying; I somehow knew that no matter what Jacob would always be a part of me.

Jacob looked at me again and he somehow looked different. I smiled and jumped into his arms. He held me with a new sense of urgency while I held him with desperation.

He pulled away from me and looked me in the eyes. I could see everything he was feeling; I could almost sense it without even looking, if that were even possible. I never felt as close to someone as I did in that very moment.

"They left?" Jacob asked, breaking the blissful silence

I nodded, "they left. They're moving back to Forks, though."

Jacob pulled away from me and I felt a twinge of pain go through me. I grabbed his hand and spun him around.

"Jacob!" I shouted, probably a little too loud, "I am not going back to Edward. I just had my chance and I turned it down. Edward was no good for me."

Jacob looked at me and ran a finger down my face, "What happens now?"

I sighed. As strong of a pull I felt towards Jacob, I knew that this wasn't something I could do right now.

"Edward screwed me up bad," I sighed and nuzzled into his neck, "I need time to sort everything out."

Jacob kissed the top of my head and I could feel his smile, "I'll wait forever, Bella."

I pulled his head towards me and kissed his cheek, "I don't know what I would do without you."

We stood there for a moment in another stretch of blissful silence, just holding onto one another. Jacob finally broke the embrace and looked at me with such intensity in his eyes.

"Que Quowle," he whispered, his voice shaking

I had no idea what Jacob just said meant but I loved the way it sounds - he never spoke his native language around anyone – it made me feel special. I looked at him, smiled then wrapped my arms around him tightly. I wasn't sure where this was going but all I did know was that it was going to be great.

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_There you have it. I hope everyone liked it. I will try to get the companion piece or chapter four out asap! Please read and review!_


	5. Chapter 4: Starts with Goodbye

Chapter Four  
Starts with Goodbye

------

_Okay… I know long time without an update BUT this is by far the longest chapter to date. I am currently working on a video for this chapter to go along with it so keep your eyes open for that one. If you may have noticed, I deleted the old chapter with the link to the trailer so, for those who have not seen it, please visit_

_http: // w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m / watch?v=eAhuPLiysOw_

_The link will also be on my profile. _

_I really worked hard on this chapter and I hope that everyone likes it as much as I do. There is going to be a lot going on in the next few chapters that I am excited to get out._

_I wrote this chapter shadowing a lot of what I felt when I went through a bad break up a few years ago. I wanted to try to capture what she is going through and feeling. _

_A warning to the Edward fans: I say some things that you may not agree with but please understand that this is my opinion and is being written to work with the rest of the story. Consider yourselves warned._

_You know the usual; I do not own anything but Rayne… she's all mine. The rest belongs to Mrs. Stephenie._

* * *

_So hard to see myself without him,  
I felt a piece of my heart break,  
But when you're standing at a crossroad,  
There's a choice you gotta make_

* * *

I opened my eyes and looked around at my surroundings. The steady sound of rain drops echoed throughout my hotel room. After Harry's funeral I decided it would be best if I got away for a while to clear my head. Renee was in Europe until May so I decided a quick weekend trip to Port Angeles would be perfect. It took some convincing Charlie but finally, he let me take the trip on a weekend in April.

It was Sunday the 16th – it was exactly seven months since Edward left me in that forest.

I could not wait to get home and be with the ones who matter the most to me – the ones who still cared about my well-being.

I spent my time thinking about school and the plans for what I was going to do for college. I had decided on going to Peninsula College here in Port Angeles. The daily commute wouldn't be bad if I still got to be around those who mean the most to me. I just wasn't sure how my truck would handle that. I would have to talk to Jacob about it.

I also did a lot of thinking about... Edward. I didn't miss him. Not by a long shot but it wasn't as simple as it would seem. I loved him dearly. Edward was a very loyal individual but with that, loyalty came a side of him almost as ugly as the vampire within.

I like to refer to it as the ying yang affect. He appeared to the majority of the residence of Forks as a very respectful young man - which he was; but he was also very controlling.

He always had a say in everything I did. It wasn't a suggestion - what he said, I did. I lost my voice, my opinion. I barely saw my friends, I never went anywhere without him following close by and going to the res to see Jacob was a once in a blue moon thing. I usually hung out with Jacob when Edward was out hunting and Billy and him were over to watch the game on the flat screen. Those days were great - I always thoroughly enjoyed them. I am still amazed that Jacob still talks to me after that.

When Edward broke up with me - I don't even know who that girl was. I was completely selfish in my dealings. I made Charlie's life impossible, I forgot friends birthdays, I used Jacob so I could be closer to Edward... None of which I am proud of. Charlie should've sent me away. It would have been better for everyone if I had been in solitude. I know how I acted wasn't healthy. He didn't want me anymore and he left me completely alone and unsheltered in the woods with no regards to my safety. He didn't deserve how I reacted. I see now that I CAN live without him and that every single tear I shed was victory for him. He didn't only leave me but he took the family I loved dearly and ripped my sister from my hands.

Yeah, that's a guy who gives a shit.

I walked out of the hotel, my bag in tow as I walked out to my truck. I smiled, knowing I would soon be home. I was excited about how things were going to be from now on.

As I drove towards the Armoury Square Shopping Mall in Port Angeles, I found myself thinking about the last few weeks since I was standing on the cliff and met that girl. It was the strangest thing.

I keep having dreams about my future in Forks - I know I was not tricked. She had shown me my future, like promised. I also knew that for some reason, after seeing my future, I chose to jump but something changed. Jacob stopped me. It was no longer my choice that was shaping my future, it was Jacob's.

_You're right._

I heard Rayne's voice echoe through the truck. I looked around and there was no sign of her. I decided I would see if she could hear me - wherever she was.

"Will that change the future?"

_It was how it always meant to happen. You always wanted to jump. When I showed you your future, it changed the course of what was to happen, thus placing Jacob in the area when you were going to jump._

I nodded, it made sense. I knew there was limitations to what she could tell me. I wasn't going to push it.

_Live your life, Bella. The future can change in an instant. You decide your path. What you saw was one possible outcome. As your dreams become more realistic, you have to remember that. _

I nodded, "I will."

Her presence was gone. I sighed as I turned onto the street with the resturant that Edward insisted on bringing me too. I sighed heavily and turned on my stereo. Jacob had given me a new stereo for it since the one that had been in there dissapeared when Edward left. I had a mixed CD in and I stopped at my song. My lullaby. I sighed and wiped a tear from my eyes.

I may not miss him but in some ways, I miss our relationship. Sure, it was somewhat of an abusive relationship but there were good parts to it. Edward's love for me was electrifying. He loved me more than I ever thought someone could love me and he was one of the most romantic people I have ever known. Problem was, he was obsessed with me. His insecurities made him hold onto me too tightly and we both became sufficated by it. I guess when you're over a hundred years old and have never known love, you run into these problems.

Truth was, I was trying to be strong but it wasn't an easy feat. I love Edward - just a little too much. Our relationship was intense and we went through a lot together. I'm just surving the best I can at this point.

I pulled into the mall and smiled. I haven't seen a mall in months and I was sorta excited about shopping. Even if I was alone. I stepped into the mall and stopped in my tracks. Starring at me was a salon - I decided it was time for me to live like a new person. There was no doubt it would take me a while to get over Edward and our relationship but I had to start somewhere.

I stepped out of the salon and caught my reflection in the mirror just outside the entrance to the place; I couldn't help but smile. My hair was now sitting just below my shoulders and instead of my normal boring brown, I had it colored a vibrant chocolate brown with deep red high lights. It was a pleasent change - I had to admit, I no longer looked blah. I was actually sorta beautiful - no where near as beautiful as Rosalie or Alice of course but still, it was sorta beautiful.

I glanced down at my watch, 12:05pm. I still had a few hours before anyone expected me back in Forks.

As I continued my venture through the mall, I noticed a couple sitting on a bench, kissing and cuddling with each other; I fet a sharp pain where the hole once was. An intense feeling of longing flowed through my body like an electric shock. I missed that feeling of being in love and having someone love me in return. I sighed sadly and wondered if I could ever find love like that again. My thoughts immediately raced to Jacob and that night inside his garage during Harry Clearwater's wake. I thought about what he said to me and I couldn't help but wonder what it was he said.

"Que Quowle," I repeated as the memory played again in my mind; it came out more of a question then repeating

"It means stay with me forever."

I stopped in my tracks and looked behind me - it was Seth. He was with his mother, Sue.

"Oh, hey Seth," I tried to sound cheerful, "how are you doing?"

He smiled softly, "I'm surviving the best I can."

I nodded. My heart broke for him. I couldn't imagine what it must be like losing a parent at such a young age. If I recall correctly, Jacob said he was about fourteen. His mom was busy looking at jewelery at one of those kiosk stores so Seth naturally felt more comfortable with being around anything that wasn't jewelery.

"So, stay with me forever, huh?" Seth smirked, "Jacob's gone soft."

I blushed. I didn't even realize that Seth told me what it meant. A smile crossed my lips as I thought about that - Jacob Black was in love with me. I felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner but why else would Jake ask me to stay with him forever and those times he kissed me... Then there was that intense.. I don't know what that was in the garage - all I knew was that there was a young werewolf in love with me.

"You really had no idea what it meant, did you?" Seth asked me, leading me to a bench; I shook my head no, "You do realize that Jacob is crazy in love with you, right?"

I shook my head, "I didn't realize it was a possibility until you told me what it meant. How do you know..."

Seth laughed, "It's obvious."

"What's obvious, dear?" Sue asked as she approached us, "Hello Bella."

"Hello Sue," I responded sweetly, "I hope you're doing well."

"I am getting by," she said sadly as she looked down at the floor; a moment later, she looked at her son, "What is obvious, Seth?"

"That Jacob Black is madly in love with Bella over here."

I was blushing purfousely now. I tried to hide it but naturally, it was only making it worse. Sue looked over at me and chuckled.

She smiled sweetly and rested her hand on my knee, "Oh, Bella! It's true. That boy looks at you like my Harry would look at me."

A tear quickly fell from Sue's face. Seth lowered his head - I wasn't sure what to do so I laid a sympathetic hand on Sue's shoulder.

"I didn't mean to upset you, mom," Seth choked out, in barely a whisper

Sue sighed and sat up straight. I knew this action well, Charlie would do it when trying to hide an emotion - which was most of the time.

"It's alright Seth," she whispered softly then she looked at me, "I am just waiting until the time is right and Jacob imprin..."

She paused, looked at me and then at Seth. Apparently, what ever she was trying to tell me was a wolf thing and Seth had no clue about any of that. Thankfully, Seth didn't hear anything.

Sue looked down at her watch and sighed, "Well, Bella, it has been wonderful seeing you! Unfortunatly, we have got to get going. I do hope you will join us at the barbeque at our place tonight at seven. Your father and Jacob will be there, so I certantly hope you will be as well."

I nodded and stood up to properly say goodbye to the Clearwaters, "Yes, I will be there. I look forward to it. I'm going to be heading back to Forks myself in a few hours."

Sue nodded and gave me a hug, "Oh Bella, I will see you tonight. Enjoy the rest of your day, you need it."

I nodded, "Thank you. Goodbye Sue. I'll see you later, Seth!"

"Bye!" Seth replied cheerfully as he ushered his mother away

When the Clearwater's left, I sighed. They had lost a great man and they were truly mourning. A guy broke up with me and I locked myself up for months. It was then that I realized how truly pathetic I was being about the whole thing. In comparison, losing a father or a husband was a far greater loss than losing a boyfriend - especially if it is obvious that he wasn't the one. I was pathetic. Truly pathetic.

I sighed and went to turn towards the exit when a dress caught my eye outside of David's Bridal. It wasn't a wedding dress by any means but it was a beautiful black with a split with white underneath. Running up the side of the split and across the dress where the white also met the dress was white embroydered flowers - flowing like a vine. I was never one for dressing up but this was simply beautiful.

I quickly headed inside the store and found the rack with them. I looked at the price and nearly fell over. The dress was on sale from three hundred to seventy five. It was apparently apart of their annual prom dress sale. I froze at the site of that word on the banner in the middle of the store. My senior prom.

I had gone to my junior prom, much to my dismay of a decietful boyfriend - I hadn't really enjoyed myself at all. However, now I found myself wanting to engage in the ridiculous tradition of my senior prom. The last big event before I graduated and went off to college.

I looked at the dress and sighed. I could easily afford it - some money had "mysteriously" made it into my account in the sum of five grand. It was Alice's way of saying sorry for listening to her sad excuse of a brother and leaving me behind. She would be estatic if I spent the money on a dress like this for prom - she had been begging me for the few weeks. She'd follow me around every where she could trying to convince me.

My thoughts were rattled by my phone vibrating - a present from Charlie right before school started after Spring Break. He always wanted to have a way of communicating with me. Harry's death really affected him and he was constantly worried about me. I opened the flip phone and smiled. It was a text message from Alice.

_Get it. You'll have a blast at Prom. You'll have a pair of shoes and accessories on your bed when you get home!_

I laughed. Of course Alice already knew what I had decided. I bit my lip and went to my messages and typed in a cell phone number. If I was going to go to my prom, there is only one person I would want to go with me - my Jacob. I made a mental note to myself about the imprint thing Sue nearly let slip but right now, prom was all I cared about.

_Jake, I'm at a store looking at an incredible prom dress - I want you to come with me. Be my date?_

I suddenly felt nervous when I hit the send button. What if he said no? I knew the chances of it were slim but there was always that possibility.

I shook the thought out of my head and quickly shuffled through the dresses until I found my size. I smiled and grabbed it and practically raced to the cashier. I laughed at myself - this wasn't how I normally acted but once in a while, it was Okay, right?

As I walked out of the store, I glanced at my phone. Nothing. I sighed and walked towards the exit. My phone went off as I pushed the doors to the sunny outdoors open. I opened it up; once again, it was Alice.

_Good girl. Don't worry, he will say yes. I don't like it though. _

I chuckled as I quickly responded to her, telling her to behave. A sudden pleasent chill went up my spine and I looked up towards my truck, nothing. I shook my head and walked towards the Chevy. I quickly got the dress inside the passenger door and headed towards the drivers seat. It may have only been around one but I wanted to get to Forks as soon as possible. The second I turned the corner towards my door my heart leaped from my chest and I jumped backwards. Leaning against my door in a pair of jean shorts and a very revealing black t-shirt was Jacob.

"Jake!" I squeeled as I leaped into his arms. It felt good being in them again, "What are you doing here?"

He kissed the top of my head and smirked, "I got your message and decided to accompany you on your drive home."

I looked at him confused, "How did you get here so fast?"

"I ran!" He exclaimed, sticking his chest out like he was Conan or something, "there's a lot of woods between here and Forks. It was no problem at all."

I laughed lightly and wrapped my arms around him again, trying to take in as much of his warmth as I could, "You're a crazy wolf. I would have been home in a little bit. You didn't have to run all that way."

He pulled me away from him and looked tenderly in my eyes. He ran his finger down my cheek and laid a gentle kiss on my other cheek - I could feel that he wanted more. Part of me did too, but I knew that now wasn't the right time. I tensed up and he sighed.

"It's alright Bella," he whispered quietly, "I do understand."

I quickly pulled from Jacob's arms and I was instantly cold. I couldn't bare to look at him. I felt guilty.

"Jake..."

Jacob grabbed my arm lightly, like he was a feather and pulled me against him. He wrapped his strong arms around me like I was a porclean doll. I closed my eyes and took in his scent. It was as if he was my own person sancuary. I felt at piece... sort of felt like I was home.

"You don't need to hide from me, Bells," Jacob's voice was tender, "I have all the time in the world."

I smiled. Jacob was right; hiding from him - it was wrong and unnecessary. With him, I was allowed to be myself; I was able to do things the was I saw fit. I love having that freedom.

"I don't deserve you," I choked out, not realizing I had tears in my eyes.

Jacob quickly put his finger under my chin to raise my chin so he could stare into my eyes. His expression was a little difficult for me to read - he seemed annoyed and upset but there was something else that I couldn't quite figure out.

"Never say that," his voice was full of desperation, "Bella, you are everything to me. Don't ever think that you're not good enough for me."

I smiled and I found myself fighting the urge to wrap my arms around him and get lost in his arms, those lips... I shook my head and giggled. I had to change the subject and fast.

"So, that message," I said quickly, turning towards the door to my car as Jacob ran to the passenger side door, "I haven't gotten a yes or no yet."

The truck started with a roar and a bit of hesitation, I was defenitly going to have to get Jacob to check that out for me.

Jacob smirked, "Be your date?"

"Yeah," I said sadly, Jacob was mocking me and I knew I was going to be rejected, "it would be fun."

"Be you _date_?" Jacob asked again, this time I clued into what he meant

I blushed, "Yeah, I guess so."

"Don't worry about it, Bells, I'm just yanking your chain," Jacob said quietly, catching onto my tone, "I'd be honored to go with you. I'll probably be the youngest guy there."

I laughed, "Legally, yes, but not the way you look. You look like you're at least twenty-one."

"Told you I was older!" Jacob exclaimed, causing us both to laugh, "By the way, I love the new hairdo on you. I especially love the red."

I smiled, trying to contain a blush.

I turned on the radio to provide Jacob and I some background noise while we talked; this was the way we usually drove together now and I loved it. There was something peaceful and so relaxing about it. As we came closer to Forks, a song came on from Carrie Underwood called "Starts with Goodbye" and it hit a nerve with me. In many ways, it reflected on my feelings towards my situation now. One part in particular stood out for me and I quickly had to keep my face away from Jacob. The last thing I wanted was to explain to him what was on my mind…

_I know there's a blue horizon,  
Somewhere up ahead, just waiting for me,  
Getting there means leaving things behind,  
Sometimes life's so bitter sweet._

My thoughts immediately went to Jacob; I knew he was good for me. I knew that he loved me and that he would always be there for me. It was just so hard to leave behind the memory of Edward. His family was coming back but he wasn't; his life as a _good _vampire was over – he was now a member of the Volturi. Even if I wanted a chance to have him in my life like that again, they were gone. I had to move on with my life; sitting around letting my life pass me by was just stupid.

_I guess it's gonna have to hurt,  
I guess I'm gonna have to cry,  
And let go of some things I've loved,  
To get to the other side,  
I guess it's gonna break me down,  
Like falling when you try to fly,  
It's sad, but sometimes moving on with the rest of your life,  
Starts with goodbye._

I shook my head and I pulled the truck to the side of the road, much to Jacob's confusion. I swung the driver's door open and ran to the lush grass beside the road and into the thick forests beside it. I could hear Jacob following behind me; he was giving me my space yet trying to ensure that I was safe.

I stood there for a moment, a million thoughts running through my head like a freight train racing down the tracks. I felt so free – it had been seven long months since he left; I had only been with him officially for six months. The math was obvious; I was beyond overdue, no matter how much I loved him.

I was standing in a small clearing in the forest, no more than three minutes away from my truck and my whole body was shaking. Tears were just beginning to fall tenderly down my face. I could hear Jacob breathing behind me – his breaths were uneven; I knew he was worried about me. I wasn't normally like that – just running out of my truck in the middle of a trip and into strange forests. He probably thought I was losing my mind; truth be told, I thought I was losing what I had left of it.

I spun around and looked at Jacob, my face and eyes red from the tears. The look on his face said that his heart broke for me. He was as strong as they came but he hated to see me in pain of any kind; he had been so patient with me the last four months. He was standing by, letting me heal, and allowing me to have the space. Whatever I needed him to be, he would do it without question or hesitation. He was more than my best friend, more than my sun; he was the reason I was standing here today. If hadn't of grabbed me when he did, I would probably be in the arms of a cold, dead vampire right now. Logic told me to hate him for keeping me away from Edward by my heart sang him praise. He was giving me a chance to live. Truly live.

It was time I started doing just that.

I walked over to Jacob, cautiously, not really sure what was going to happen when I finally reached him. I looked at his eyes intensely for a moment, trying to read them. Confusion, fear, hope and… love filled his eyes. Seth was right, Jacob loved me; although I was not in love with him, I knew that having Jacob's love was a good start. I could begin to trust him with my heart, little by little.

I tenderly ran my thumb down his face and I bit my lip. His eyes danced with more confusion and hope as I moved myself closer to him.

_Be happy. _

I jumped back and turned away from Jacob – I could hear the quiet sigh of frustration escape his lips. I knew how much that had just hurt him, which was the last thing I hoped to accomplish from that. I wasn't expecting to hear Edward's voice; I had made that step to move on from him and he was filling my head with his cold words again. I began to walk further away from Jacob, trying to come to grips with the voice when a sudden wave flowed through my body. It felt as if I was being held in that spot. I knew what had to happen and what would never be allowed to happen again.

I turned and looked at Jacob. His eyes were full of tears he was fighting to hold back; my heart broke. I knew that he wouldn't be able to put up with a whole lot more and I couldn't blame him. I knew that this was probably going to be my best opportunity.

I ran into Jacob's arms, wrapping my legs around his waist. My hand buried itself into the back of Jacob's hair as I pulled his head towards my own. I crushed my lips into his with a hungry desire. At first, his kiss was hesitant, confused but within seconds he was eagerly matching my lips, letting his feelings for me pour through his lips. I was in heaven. Pure heaven.

A few moments passed before either one of us dared to pull away. Jacob finally pulled away and rested his head on mine while still holding me up with one hand. His free hand found my face and he cupped it so that I would see deep into eyes intense eyes that were full of passion, love and lust. He took a deep breath and smiled – he was in a state of bliss.

"I love you, Bella," he whispered ever so softly, his voice quivering, "I know you don't feel like that right now and that's okay. I can live with that just please, stay with me."

I smiled and kissed him again, "I promise. Just give me time, okay?"

He nodded and pulled me tightly against me as our lips danced together once again. Nothing could ever top how I was feeling at that exact moment and I knew nothing ever would again. I had finally let myself the freedom to feel… loved.

I could only hope that with Jacob's help and undying devotion that perhaps, I could learn to love again.

* * *

_I really hope everyone liked this. Now, I know this story is based in 2006 and that Carrie Underwood didn't have a song called "Start with Goodbye" out yet, however, for this chapter, let's pretend she does. This was a cute little way for me to end the chapter on a good note and personally, I love it. I hope you all do too. Please read and review and check out the trailer for WDYWFM if you haven't already!!!_


	6. Chapter 5: Revelations and Revenge?

I decided to do something different with this chapter. It is written from Edward's point of view. I wanted to give the readers a different idea of what is going to happen from this point on. I tried three times to write this from Bella's POV but it wasn't working.

Regardless, I hope you all enjoy it.

I don't own anything, everything belongs to Mrs. Stephenie.

**Chapter 5:  
Reasoning's and Revenge?**

**Edward's Point of View**

------

Oh Bella.

I drove out of Forks with a heavy heart and sadness that could never be put into words. Her scent still lingered around town but my hopes were useless. She was gone. Taken away in a desperate act to rid herself of pain - pain I left her with when I walked away seven months ago.

I always knew I would come back. Words could never even begin to describe how much I miss her or love her. She was my warm heavenly angel and now she was flying in heaven, watching over this doomed planet.

I will never forget that dreadful call I received from Rosalie telling me she was gone. She told me that my Bella jumped from a cliff in La Push. I only learned this morning that Jacob Black was the one who pulled her body from water. His thoughts were full of memories of them together these past few months.

I also discovered that he was a werewolf. I wondered if Bella knew about that. I would not have approved of her knowingly hanging out with a _dog_. I would not have approved of a lot that she has done since my departure. It was stupid and reckless being near a wolf so young.

My decision to join the Volturi came easily after I found out that Bella had died. I had attempted to convience them to kill me, however, they would not and instead, I was offered a place amongst them. I was no longer just another vampire I was elite. My golden eyes were gone for good. They are the way nature intended they be - blood red. No longer was I Edward Cullen for he died the day his love did; I would forever more be known as Edward Volturi.

Although I knew I would always come back, I did not make this trip to Forks by choice; I was sent here on a job for my coven. Victoria has spent the last few weeks getting an army together to bring to Forks in search of Bella. This sort of behaviour was forbidden amongst our people; it put us at risk of exposure. It was my duty to search Victoria out and destroy her.

I was tracking Victoria in forestry between Forks and Port Angeles; this is where her scent was the strongest. I glanced up and saw her in a tree, watching something or someone. I knew no opportunity would present itself better than the one laid out before me. I smirked as I leaped effortlessly into the tree behind her. She was entranced by whatever she was focusing on. I took advantage of the moment. I leaped from the tree and tackled her to the ground and with a swift movement, I tore off her arm. She howled in pain. She spun around and snarled at me. She took one look at me and her eyes widened in total disbelief.

"I'm not a Cullen anymore," I snarled, reading the question in her mind, "I'm a member of the Volturi coven. I have been sent to kill you."

She smirked, "I wonder what Bella would think of what you have become."

I snarled, fangs bared, "Bella is dead, Victoria. If you were half as good of a tracker James was you would have known that."

She laughed. She needed not say a word. Her mind said it all.

The image of Bella with her legs wrapped around Jacob's waist as she kissed him sent a furry through my body. This was not possible. Bella was dead. She was buried. Jacob had told me himself that Charlie was planning a funeral... I shook my head. I turned to focus on Victoria but she was gone. His memories spoke nothing of her being alive… I swore silently at myself and sighed. At least I had her dismembered arm.

The wind blew and the most mouthwatering scent filled my lungs. It was a smell I knew far too well - Bella.

Was Victoria telling me the truth? Was Bella alive? Is that what she was focusing on? Was my Bella making out with that _filthy dog_?

I broke out into a run, following the scent. As I got closer, Jacob Black and the undeniable scent of arosal - from both sources, tainted Bella's precious scent! I froze in my place as I the sight Victoria had been staring at was locked in my eyes.

Bella was alive truly alive. Her skin was warm; her heart was beating and those lips… I did not understand how this was possible. Alice saw her jump off the cliff...

I saw Jacob's body tense up as he held Bella effortlessly; I knew he could sense me - his sense of smell was nearly as sensitive as my own.

In his mind, he played back a memory of a conversation he had with Bella... She was over me; she had done exactly what I wanted her to do and yet I found myself regreting it. I snarled as he replayed what took place just a few minutes ago when Bella jumped on to him. There was nothing I could do now Bella was gone. She was no longer mine. I want her to be happy and she obviously was even if it was with a wolf.

I ran as far from them as I could. Victoria was injured; she could not have gotten very far. She was going to feel as much pain as I could muster.

I ignored the sound of the Alpha howl that broke through the forests as I ran. Those wolves were not going to get in my way. I would kill each and everyone if I had too.

As I thought, finding Victoria was incredibly easy. She was hiding amongst a few rock fixtures situated in the middle of the dank forest. She was in pain but healing quickly. The area where her arm was would almost be completely healed. She was no doubtably pissed right off which meant a good fight was in order. It was just what I needed.

_Back off, Edward. Leave me alone and I will leave the girl alone. _

"Do you really think I'm that blind?" I snarled at her, "I know about your army of new borns. Are you aware of the risk you're putting our kind at?"

She glared at me, "Do you think I care?"

"You should," I smirked, "I am not here to kill you because of Bella. I am here because the Volturi ordered it."

_I never thought I'd see the day when Edward Cullen was a bitch boy for the Volturi. _

I snarled. I went to lunge at her when a massive russet wolf jumped over my head and crashed into Victoria. I struggled to read the wolf's mind but they were too many voices in his head. The pack was close. I was not about to let a pack of fido's come in between Victoria and myself.

I lunged at Victoria no more than a second after she threw the dog aside. Before I reached her, the wolf was on me. He got a good chunk out of my arm before I was able to throw him off. I looked at my arm, it would heal just fine.

I saw two other wolves show up and I snarled and stared down the massive black one. This was undoubtably the alpha - it was probably Jacob if I remember the lineage properly from the days the treaty first came into play.

I heard a blood curling scream break the tension between the two wolves and myself - it was Victoria.

I turned on my heel and just as I did, the russet wolf was tearing Victoria's head from her body. The wolf leaped backwards and let his pack finish dismemberment. He did not care for that - he got the kill and the glory.

Way to go, Jacob!

That voice came from the black wolf. My head snapped towards the russet wolf. Jacob. Not only did Jacob get my girlfriend but also he stole the job I was sent to do. The Volturi would not be happy about this.

Before I knew what was happening, three more wolves were surrounding themselves around me and four strong arms were holding onto me.

"Get out of her Jasper!" I snarled viciously, "Take Emmet and go home!"

"No way," Emmet beamed, "Carlisle sent us after Quil came to inform us about you. The Volturi man, really?"

"That is none of your concern!"

"You broke Esme's heart," Jasper whispered as he took over my emotions and a wave of calm swarmed over me, "this is not who you are, brother."

I closed my eyes - I never wanted to be a monster but when I thought Bella was gone and they wouldn't kill me, what other choice did I have? Now Bella is alive but will not have me. Without Bella, I have no soul; I am a monster.

With all the strength I could muster, I tossed Jasper into a tree followed by Emmet. I was faster than they were and I knew this was my only chance to out run them and the wolves. I ran - I would not stop until I hit Italy and my new family.

As I dissapeared I made I silent promise that this would not be the last they see of me.

As I ran, I passed Bella, who was sitting in her truck with Alice, waiting for Jacob to escort her to La Push. I paused just out of sight.

Bella was even more beautiful than I remembered. Her hair was shorter now and darker with a heavingly red tone to it. She had more color in her face than she ever had before - part of it was from spending all the sunny days Forks had outside instead of being locked away at the Cullen residence and the other part of it was a happy glow. She was happy here living the life of a normal girl. Well, as normal as you can get I suppose with dogs around you.

Alice knew I was there, she was cursing to herself about it. Finally, without Bella ever having a clue, Alice, who had only ever supported me in my decisions, told me off.

_Leave. Let her live her life without you messing it up. She doesn't love you anymore. We tried helping you and you turned your back on us. You have chosen this path. You've hurt my family far too much. Go. _

I ran off.

----------

_Volterra Italy. _

Aro and Marcus were counting on me to get the job done and I had failed them miserably. I knew the outcome for this would be against me; maybe they would give me the gift of death.

I walked through the corridor toward the main area of the residence. As I rounded the final corner, I was greeted by Jane.

"You finally return," Jane said in a sinister voice

You look worse than you did when you found out Bella was dead... Interesting.

"Mind your own buisness, Jane," I snarled, causing her to laugh, "Excuse me, I need to speak to Aro."

I pushed past her and into the main room. As usual, Aro and Marcus were sitting on their thrones. Caius was nowhere to be found, which was rather odd.

"Ah, Edward!" Aro exclaimed, as he stood from his throne, "So glad to see you have returned. I hope your trip served you well."

I gritted my teeth, "It is a trip I would rather soon forget."

"Oh?" Marcus asked as he watched me carefully, "The girl, she is alive after all?"

I nodded, "Yes."

Without another word, Aro gathered my hand into his and began reading my thoughts regarding the trip. He growled and pushed me away from his, sending me into the wall. I looked up and I knew my death was coming.

"That girl is mating with a shape-shifter!" Aro snarled, causing Marcus to snarl in return, "She is a liability. She must be stopped before she proves to be a hinder to our existance."

"We must be careful," Jane said softly as she entered the room, "I visited Forks myself when I heard about the wolves. When I saw that the girl was with them, I attempted to get rid of her then and it did not work."

Marcus looked at her with confusion in his eyes and then looked at me, "Edward, this girl, you know her thoughts?"

I shook my head, "No, I cannot."

"Incredible!" Aro exclaimed, clapping his hands together, "we must go find this girl. She would be a valuble asset to our family! A vampire immune to the powers of other vampires!"

"No!" I shouted, she may no longer be mine but I was not willing to watch her lose her soul, "You cannot change her!"

Aro glared at me as Jane began to use her powers on me. I crumbled to my knees in agony - death was coming. I welcomed in with open arms.

Marcus was standing over me, "If she is one of us, Edward then she is yours for all eternity. These dogs may have the ability to be immortal but she would be his mortal enemy and to them, the pack is everything. He would not disobey them like that."

I looked at him carefully and slowly stood up. Jane glared at me and I turned toward Aro.

"You won't change her," I snarled again and Aro looked at Jane, "I will."

Aro stopped Jane and clapped his hands together again, "Wonderful! To america we shall go!"

---------


	7. Chapter 6: The Past Revisited

**Chapter 6:  
The Past Revisited  
**

_**THIS IS THE RE-WRITE OF CHAPTER 6; IF YOU HAVE READ THE OLD VERSION THEN PLEASE READ THIS OR YOU MAY GET LOST IN FUTURE CHAPTERS; THANK YOU TO GOTHIC SAKU-CHAN AND GOLDENGIRL62 FOR THEIR HELP WITH THIS RE-WRITE  
**_

_First off, sorry for such a wait. This is a long chapter and I honestly love it; it took me forever to write, especially considering that my son and I have both come down with the flu. I had every intention of posting this last night, however, my wonderful husband had other plans and sent me to bed early to get some rest. Thankfully he did that though. I completely changed the ending of it and I think it's a lot better than it was originally. I really put a twist in this that I hope you all love! I know I have never read anything like it in any other fan fic so I hope it goes over well._

_As for last chapter, all I can say is WOW. I wasn't expecting a reception like that from the fans. In total, I received EIGHT reviews for it. Thank you so much. It gave me the inspiration to get this chapter out. There will be some more chapters from different perspectives. I have already planned to have the most intense chapter planned so far narrated from Jacob's POV. _

_You guys mean the world to me! I will be setting up a live journal account where you guys can read preview snippets of chapters that are to currently being written. You can also give feedback and any ideas for the story!_

_There is also a second video to go with the story, this one is reflective of Starts with Goodbye and is titled as such. Music is such an inspiration to my writing as you can tell. _

_Trailer: w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=eAhuPLiysOw_

_Starts with Goodbye: w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=dDFDkKxW0ho_

_Please read and review! I love hearing from the fans!!!_

_In addition, if anyone knows how to make banners, PM me or leave a review; I would really LOVE to have one made. I tried but failed miserably. _

_THANK YOU A MILLION!!!_

_I own nothing but Rayne, everything else is property of Mrs. Stephenie_

-------

Its crazy how quickly my life changes. One minute I am sharing an incredible moment with Jacob and the next Sam is alpha calling him. I understand that it is his duty but that doesn't make it suck any less.

Before he phased though, he gave me a kiss I will never forget. It was tender yet very passionate. It was like he was kissing me for strength to get through whatever bad was happening. It felt like I was his reason for doing what he does. It was just simply incredible.

I was sitting in my truck, getting ready to head home with a I saw a small flash heading towards my truck. It stopped right in front of my left head light. It was Alice. She walked over to the passenger side door and climbed in.

"You know what's going on?" I asked and Alice nodded, "Victoria?"

"Yes," she said sadly, "Jacob wanted me to wait with you while he was busy. He wants to drive to La Push with you. Quil, I think his name is, came to the house and told us what was going on."

"And?" Alice looked at me confused, "I'm not stupid Alice. I know you well enough to know when something is up."

She sighed, "It's Edward. He's here."

My eyes widened, "Why? Is the rest of the Volturi?"

"No," she replied, "it's my understanding that he was sent here to kill Victoria because she was assembling a new born army or something like that."

"Does he know that I'm alive?" I asked, leaning my head on the sterring wheel.

She nodded, "He saw you and Jacob... making out in the forest. I gotta say, Bells, I never thought..."

I looked at her with fire in my eyes, "It's alright for me to be with a vampire but it's wrong for me to be with a werewolf?!"

Alice lowered her head, "That's not what I meant, Bella, it's just that young werewolves are unstable and could lose their temper easily and Edward..."

"Is stable?!" I shouted, "You call going to the Volturi and joining them is stable?!"

"You're right," she sad sadly, "I had a vision of him attacking Victoria and... his eyes were red. He's become a monster, Bella."

I shook my head knowing where she was going, "No, I won't save him. Don't even ask me too. He made a decision and he has to live with it."

Alice put her hand up like she was having a vision; she gave me a look and I knew what it meant, Edward was near by. She was talking to him. A moment passed before she looked down again.

"I told him to leave," she said simply

I looked at her and smiled, "Thank you."

-----

"Bells?" I heard Jacob's tender voice say as I felt a gentle kiss upon my lips, "Baby?"

My eyes fluttered open and I looked around me. We were in the truck... But the truck was parked outside of the Black residence. I must've fallen asleep while waiting for Jacob to return. I turned my head to face Jacob and smiled. He was staring lovingly at me as he gently rubbed my head.

"Hey," I said sleepily, "How long have I been out?"

He smiled and kissed the tip of my nose, "About an hour or so. Alice said you passed out and wasn't sure if she should wake you so she waited. I moved you when I got to the truck. You looked so peaceful."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said with that child like grin on his face, "Let's get going, shall we?"

I looked around and then at the time, it was 4:30pm, "Don't we have to be over at the Clearwater's for six?"

"We do," he said as he grabbed my hand and started to pull me towards his house, "but I need a nice, non-wolf thing to wear tonight and I have no clue what to do."

I stopped in my tracks, "I don't have anything to wear that isn't jeans and sweaters."

He smirked as he led me through the house and into his room. He threw me a box and I immediately recognized the design on the box. I looked up at Jacob; I didn't understand how this ended up in La Push when Alice couldn't come into it.

"She dropped it off to Charlie and Charlie brought it here while I was gone," he stated proudly, "He sent me a text just as I was getting into Port Angeles to tell me. He figured it was clothes."

I shook my head and looked at Jacob's floor. It was a disaster. I guess I couldn't be all that surprised considering the amount of time he spent at home. I made a quick mental note to tidy up the room the next time Jacob had to patrol.

I went over to Jacob's closet looked through it. A few weeks ago, I had bought him a button down shirt to wear for a special occassions since his one from the funeral was trashed. This and a nice pair of kakis would be perfect. I handed him the outfit and turned to leave when he wrapped his arm around my neck and pulled me closer to him. Our lips met and things got heated very quickly. This was something I wasn't used too - not by a long shot. Edward would have stopped things way before they got to this point but Jacob was human and the risk of killing me in a heat of passion wasn't likely.

I heard the front door of Jacob's house open, followed by the muffled voices of Charlie and Billy. We quickly pulled away and Jacob left the room to go change in the washroom.

I stood in the centre of the room and I could feel myself blushing. This whole thing was new to me; sure, I had a boyfriend before but it was never as intense in a physical sense as Jacob and I appeared to be.

I quickly turned my attention to the box sitting on Jacob's bed and sighed. I slowly opened it up and I giggled quietly. Inside was a pair of black Dolci and Gabanna slackd and a deep red Chanel sweater along with denim and red ballerenia flats.

"Jesus Alice," I whispered as I slipped into the clothes, "Still trying to turn me into a doll."

My phone started to vibrate and I knew automatically who it was. I opened it and sure enough, the phone read 1 New Message from Alice. I smirked and opened the message.

You love it. Be sure to tell me what Jacob thinks of them. Btw. Shopping trip way over due! No arguing!

I shook my head and typed a response.

I know if I don't go willingly, you'll drag me so I will go! We haven't had a girls day in a while. Let me know!

I shut the phone and looked at my self in the small mirror in Jacob's mirror. I sighed when I realized how plain I looked in comparisson to my outfit. Almost on cue. My phone vibrated again.

Look inside the box. I got you some make-up and a straightner for you. Just some basics for a simple yet beautiful look.

I smiled. Alice always came up with solutions to any beauty disaster. I looked in the box and found a lightweight foundation that is supposed to match my skin tone with some concelor, mascara and a really nice berry shade of lip gloss. Everything was made from Estee Lauder.

Fifteen minutes later, I was ready. I glanced in the mirror and smiled - I was happy with the finished result. I knew Jacob would love how I look - although I knew I could wear a burlock bag and he would still love me. I felt a twinge of pain in my stumach as I wondered - could I ever fall in love with Jacob? Would I ever be able to open my heart like that again? I shook my head. I wouldn't think about it. I was, for once, enjoying my normal human existance... Well, as normal as it would ever get.

The thought that I once wanted to be one of them - it made my blood run cold. I thought about everything I would never be able to do. Sure, the fact that I would never grow old would be incredible but the fact that I would never be able to bear children... That hit a nerve with me. Especially since I started having those dreams about Jacob and I in the future with our children. I smiled when I thought about that. I never imagined I'd ever think about being married or having children, however, with Jacob, it just seemed to be the natural way for things to happen. Deep in the back of my mind I knew that if the world of the supernatural never existed, I still would have moved to Forks; Jacob and I would have been together. It was as simple as that. No matter how I looked at it, Jacob and I were meant to be together. It was not only natural but we were soulmates.

My thoughts were shattered by the gentle knock on Jacob's bedroom door. I shook my head and answered it. Jacob was standing there, looking as fine as ever. I couldn't help but notice how much bigger he had gotten. The shirt had one time been a little lose on him but now, it was a little tight, showing off his incredible muscle definition. He was almost bigger than Sam, which made no sense to me since Sam was the alpha. Jacob's eyes looked me up and down and his jaw dropped. I blushed and quickly looked away. He used his finger to tenderly turn my head to look at him.

"Wow," Jacob forced out, "Bells, you look incredible. Shortie may be a blood sucker but she knows a thing or two about fashion."

I smiled as I put my hand on Jacob's massive chest, "You look..."

I couldn't believe it, I was at a loss for words. There were no words to describe how Jacob looks. I was completely and utterly entranced by everything that was Jacob. His arms, his chest, those abs, his legs, his hair, his beautiful face... His rugged manliness - everything. He may have only been a sixteen-year-old teenager but he looked like a twenty-something man.

"Sorta beautiful?" Jacob stated, referring to the day I flew off the motorcycle and hit my head off the rock

I shook my head and smiled, "Perfect."

Jacob blushed; he kissed the top my head and pulled me into him, "The only perfect one around here is the one in my arms. You're incredible, Bells; you don't need an outfit that costs about the same as what I have to my name to be that way."

I looked at him confused, "I thought you said you only had like two hundred saved up for school. My shoes alone cost at least a grand."

He smirked as he walked passed me, grabbing my hand to lead me to his bed. He sat down and made a notion towards my outfit and gave me a mestrivious grin, which only confused me further.

"Shortie," Jacob started smugly, "I was with Charlie helping him a few weekends ago with some yard stuff while you were working and Alice came by for a visit. She told me that if I gave her what ever savings I had, she could put it into the stock markets and make me a whole lot of money."

I looked at him bewildered, "She did?"

He nodded as he pulled me onto his lap, "She cares about you, y'know. She told me that if I was going to be with you than she wanted to make sure I could take care of you. I guess Shortie must know how hard it is for a wolf to keep a job."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Alice hated werewolves, she thought it was dangerous for me to be anywhere near them and yet she was helping the one who was in love with me make a financial backing for himself. Alice was willing to share her power with the enemy just so that I would be okay. She truly was an incredible friend.

"Wow," I found was the only thing I could think of saying

"I guess they're not all that bad," Jacob whispered, "Bella?"

"Mmm?"

He went to say something but stopped himself. He had fear written all over his face. Instead of speaking, he gently pressed his lips to mine and together, our lips danced perfectly together.

The kiss remained gentle but grew in intensity. Our bodies fell onto Jacob's bed with a quiet thud, temporarily pulling us apart. It took less than a second for us to find each other again. Jacob's kisses left my lips and began a trail along my jaw and down my neck. I moaned in surprise, letting this unknown excitment take over. I could feel a smile on Jacob's face. I knew what this must be like for him; to be this close to me after waiting ever so paitently.

One of Jacob's hands left my back and found itself on my behind, giving it a gentle squeeze causing me to gasp in surprise. A deep, husky laugh escaped his lips as I squirmed with delite. His voice sounded different to me now; although his voice got deeper since he first phased, it always had a small hint of his youthfull ness but now, it was gone. Jacob truly sounded like a man. It made him unbelievably sexy; even more so than he was already.

I wrapped my leg around his waist to bring him as close to me as I could causing Jacob to take a quick breath in. I smiled, loving my new sense of sexuality. Jacob"s hand started moving up the front of my shirt...

"Whoa," it was Quil, he had come barging into Jacob's room without any notice; Jake and I quickly pulled away, "I'm sorry dude, I..."

Jacob growled at Quil as he got off the bed, "What do you want?"

"I was almost at the Clearwater's and I could hear the yelling," Quil was trying to keep from laughing finding humor in catching Jacob and I, "I came here to warn you that Leah's is like a fire breathing dragon today."

"She just lost her dad," I whispered adjusting my shirt, "cut her some slack guys."

Jacob shook his head as he lead me out of the room. I looked around quickly, there were no signs of Charlie or Billy. They must have gone to help Sue get ready.

"That's not why she's freaking out," Jacon whispered, taking a seat on a stool in the kitchen, "it's because of Sam. Her and Sam were once engaged. Emily is Leah's cousin."

My eyes widened in disbelief. Sam was with Emily now. Why on Earth would sam do that? All I wanted to do at that moment was shank Sam for doing something so...

"It's not like that at all, Bells," Jacob said calmly, pulling me towards him; he must have sensed my anger, "It's a complicated..."

Quil's jaw dropped, "You mean you haven't told her that yo..."

Jacob shot Quil a look that could have killed him on the spot. Quil looked at him for a second and lowered his head. He walked over to the fridge and grabbed an apple then sat down on a stool without another word.

"Like I was saying, it's complicated," Jacob continued with a smug look on his face, "Wolves in our sense have a unique ability known as imprinting."

That's what Sue had been talking about; it was what she said she was expecting Jacob to do to me...

"Imprinting is when see our soulmate for the first time," Quil paused and looked at Jacob, "Usually that's the case."

"Usually?" I asked confused by that remark

Jacon sighed and looked like he was going to be sick. I rested my head on his incredibly broad shoulder, hoping it would ease his nerves. I couldn't understand why he was so nervous talking about this. Was he afraid of imprinting on... Oh god. He could imprint on someone else and I would be... No!

At that moment, I knew I could never open myself up to him like I wanted too. I could feel the tears welt up in my eyes but I would hide them. I thought Jacob was my soulmate but if he hasn't imprinted then... I'm going to lose him!

"You know how Shortie's visions are subjective to choice?" Jacob asked, breaking the tense silence; I nodded, "well, imprinting seems to work like that. We don't know why but its not a guarentee that you'll always imprint on your soulmate."

I was officially confused, "But why not? Isn't that the point of it?"

"Yes," Jacob responded, "it's really hard to explain without..."

He hesitated again but this time he pulled away from me and walked out the front door. I stood there confused while Quil looked uncomfortable. I knew that he knew why Jacob was acting so weird but I also knew that pack thoughts were not something we could talk about.

I ran after Jacob; he was pacing around the front yard like a possessed crazy person talking to himself. I just stared at him, not sure of what to make of this behaviour. I waited a few minutes to see if his attitude would change but it only got worse.

"Jacob Black!" I snapped, getting his attention, "What the hell is going on with you? You were fine in your room and the second imprinting comes up you go spastic!"

"It's none of your buisness, alright!?"

His voice was harsh, almost vicious. I looked at him and I could feel the tears build up in my eyes. I expected a lot from Jacob but never this. This wasn't what he was like and I wasn't sure what was bringing this up, but I did know I didn't like it one bit.

I sighed and without a word, I turned around and walked off Jacob's property and to my truck. I wasn't going to take him yelling at me and truth be told, it sort of scared me. I heard Jacob call after me, but I ignored it. He probably knew I was crying but it didn't matter, not anymore at least. I turned the truck over and the roaring sound drowned out Jacob's voice. I turned the truck around, heading towards the dirt road when I slammed on my breaks. In front of my truck was a massive russet wolf. I sighed, praying he didn't destroy his outfit. I should have known better that I couldn't out run a wolf. I turned the chevy off and stepped out, I could hear Quil in stitches behind me. I shook my head. Jacob walked over to me and started nuzzling my side; I didn't know much about wolf language but I could guess that this was him trying to say sorry.

"Are you trying to appologise to me?" I asked rubbing the side of his face and he licked me, "Why did you yell at me?"

His head lowered, letting out a whimper. He nudged me again and I carefully looked into his eyes. I was amazed when I could see his emotions through them. He was terrified. He laid down on the dirt and laid his head down, looking at me. I knew he felt the most free as a wolf; it made sense why he was trying to communicate his feelings this way.

"What has got you so scared?" I asked sitting to face his massive head, "Is it because of the Volturi and Edward?"

He jumped up and puffed out his chest - he let out a snuff almost as he was saying that he was ready to take them on. I took this as a no. He laid back down, this time lying his head on my lap.

"Okay, are you afraid that you're going to imprint on someone else and hurt me?"

Okay, I admit it. I didn't think what was the reason he was like this; I personally thought he already had, I just needed to know and I figured this would be my best route.

He snuffed and whimpered, nuzzing my head gently. That also meant no; time to be more straight forward.

"Have you imprinted?"

There was silence from the wolf resting his head on me like I was a pillow. I sighed, knowing it meant yes. This time, I couldn't stop the tears. They flowed freely. Jacob looked up at me with sadness in his eyes, he must have gotten hit by a drop or two on the snout. He leaped up and ran to the trees near by. He came back, this time as human Jacob, dressed in the same outfit as before. He walked over to me, picked me up and kissed me with what felt like every ounce of passion he had. I felt the entire world just stop; it was only the two of us.

"When you imprint, it feels like you are being pulled to them, the world shifts away and it's no longer the Earth keeping you here, it's them," Quil said interupting us with a smirk on his face, "Imprintees often feel like they become attatched to them. Emily said it was incredibly electrifying. She said she also knew that from that moment on, Sam would always be a part of her."

I looked at Quil, then at Jacob. Jacob looked somewhat embarassed. Quil walked over to him, whispered something in his ear and ran off - yelling something about seeing us at the barbeque. I looked at Jacob and suddenly everything that Quil said hit me as the memories of what happened in the garage flodded back. Is that why I felt like that? Had Jacob...

Jacob started walking away as thunder warned us of the rain that was going to pour over us at any moment. I grabbed his arm and turned him to face me. Tears were in his eyes; though for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why.

"Did you..." I said, taking a deep breath, "imprint on me?"

He looked at me and nodded, still sad. This baffled me. If he knew now that without a doubt I was his soulmate, then why was he so sad?

"Then... What's going on?"

He sighed, "I didn't want you too know. I wanted you to want too be with me because you chose to. Not because some freaky wolfy voodoo decided."

I smirked as I sat in the bed of my truck, "Who's all imprinted?"

"Sam on Emily, Jared on Kim, Paul... With Racheal and Quil on Claire."

"Whoa! Quil and Claire," I exclaimed not believing what I was hearing, "Cute, adorable two-year-old Clarie?"

Jacob nodded, "Imprinting doesn't always mean you'll be romantic with your imprintee. Claire right now needs Quil to be a playmate. A wolf will always be what their imprint wants them to be. Soon, it'll be more of a brother then who knows. He may be with her romantically. He may not. It could end up like that for anyone who imprints."

"See?" I exclaimed giddily, "If I didn't want to be with you romantically I wouldn't. No wolfy magic can claim me."

Jacob laughed whole heatidly, which made me smile. He wrapped his arms around me and together we shared a few moments of silent bliss. This whole thing was confusing, yet welcoming to me. Did I love Jacob? Yes, but I was still working on trusting him enough to let myself fall in love with him romantically; that would take some time. I still had plenty of demons to sort through first. Did knowing I was his 'imprint' help? Sure, it did but was it enough? Not entirely, it made me wonder something's though.

If Jacob and I were soul mates, then wouldn't he have imprinted on me the first time I saw him after he phased? I always thought if you had one soul mate then they were your soul mate regardless of what choices you make in your life. How could my choosing Edward ever change that fact?

_It's not as complicated as it seems, Bella._

I pulled away from Jacob, the world was quite literally frozen, Jacob included. I looked around and waited; Rayne walked out of the bushes and put her hands on her hips. I couldn't tell if she was pleased to see me or rather annoyed.

"How is the world… frozen?" I asked in a state of disbelief

"Same as the first time we met, Bella," she replied with a smooth sound to her voice, "I have taken over your mind, in reality; you're still embraced with Jacob."

"I see," I said simply as I walked closer to her, "care to explain?"

"Your soul, as well as Jacob's, have always been meant to be together," I looked at her dumbfounded, "in your past life, you, known then as Elizabeth, died in 1918, the same time Edward Masen died. You and Jacob, then known as Richard, were meant to meet and fall in love. You met Edward four months after he became a vampire and you fell head over heels for him. The two of you went to a social gathering with your father and that's when Richard, who was the adopted son of his tribe's chief, imprinted on you. He went to speak of you but you were gone. He ventured outside to the alley way and that was when he saw Edward, draining your blood."

I paused for a moment taking in everything that was being said to me. It explained why Edward thirsted for my blood so much when we first met.

"And why Jacob didn't imprint on you until after you let Edward go," Rayne said as she leaned against the trunk of an old tree, "When Richard saw what was going on, he phased and attacked Edward but he was inexperienced and no match for him."

My head shot up, "That explains the hatred."

Rayne nodded, "That's only part of it. Edward's father visited the nearby reservation for a business deal when he met Aylen, the daughter to the beta shape shifter of the tribe."

"Shape shifter?" I asked a little confused

"Like Jacob and the pack. True werewolves only have the ability to transform three times a month. Just like the movies," Rayne stated as I nodded, "Shape shifters have the ability to turn into their animals whenever needed and their natural enemy is the vampire."

I nodded, "That makes a lot of sense actually. But what does that have to do with anything?"

"That's where Richard got the gene from," Rayne stated as she stretched out, "Edward Sr was so captivated by her beauty that he became unfaithful to his wife. The affair ended when Aylen met the Chief's son, Cheveyo; he imprinted. By then though, she was nine months pregnant so Cheveyo adopted Richard as his own."

"Wait..." I said wanting to take this information in; my jaw dropped, "Richard and Edward are half brothers."

I could not hold back the laughter if only they know.

Rayne nodded, with a smirk on her face, "Precisely, that is why the two of them have always hated each other."

"Did they know about each other?"

Rayne nodded, "Yes. Richard hated Edward because his father wanted nothing to do with him while Edward got the world. Edward hated Richard because his existence nearly tore his family apart."

I was still confused. That explained something's but not everything. Why wasn't Jacob able to imprint on me when he first phased?

"I'm the world's most dangerous predator," I could hear Edward's voice as Rayne pulled the memory from my mind; "Everything about me invites you in. My voice... My face... Even my smell."

"It was like the movies where Dracula would put his meals under hypnoses?" I asked, suddenly uncomfortable, "He never did love me, did he?"

"You, yes," she replied quietly, "Elizabeth, no."

She stood up and walked around the area with a solemn look on her face. She was over beside Jacob and I noticed that she looked like an exact replica of Jacob in all her features. The same face, hair, eyes... It was all the same.

"Edward had you under the hypnoses but it was involuntary. The force of imprinting can't break through that," she said as she walked around Jacob; looking at him as if he meant a lot to her, "Jacob had to wait for you to let Edward go to break Edward's hold on your soul."

"What if Jacob wouldn't have stopped me from jumping, what would have happened then?" I asked with concern in my eyes, "Would Jake have been alone?"

She shook her head, "No. You would have died giving birth to your hybrid daughter, Renesmee, who would have carried your soul into her life…"

"And Jacob would have imprinted on her," I finished for her; we were silent for a moment while I thought, "That's a lot to take in."

Rayne smirked, "You live a complicated life, Bella."

I nodded, understanding. I sighed and went to turn away from her but stopped. I looked at Rayne and gave her a pleading look that was mixed with tears. While all this information put some things into perspective there was just some things that still made no sense to me.

"Rayne, why am I having such a hard time trusting Jacob enough to let myself fall in love with him romantically when I had such an easy time with Edward?"

Rayne walked over to me and pulled me into her arms; the mixture of were wolf and vampire very much apparent in her embrace, "Because you were hurt by someone you loved dearly. That kind of pain takes a long time to heal from but you will it just takes time. Believe in Jacob and all things will fall into place."

Before I could say another word to her, she was gone and I was back in Jacob's embrace. He pulled away from me and looked lovingly in my eyes. I studied his eyes carefully and I couldn't help but smirk. The information Rayne had given me about Jacob's past life replayed in my mind. I pulled away from Jacob and started laughing – he looked at me as if I had lost it. Although it was confusing and seemed almost impossible, the fact that Jacob and Edward were once half brothers was hilarious.

It took me about five minutes to get my laughter under control and I was sure that Jacob thought I had gone off the handle; hell, I was almost certain he was considering lock up. Once I was calm enough to look at Jacob to control the laughter, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him.

"We better head over to the Clearwater's before Quil and Embry convince my dad that we ran off to Vegas to elope or something," I stated as I grabbed his hand and headed towards the truck

Jacob stopped me for a moment, looking at me with such intensity in his eyes, "Bells are you and I… are we together?"

I smiled and kissed the tip of his nose, "I love you, Jacob and I wish I loved you in a romantic sense. I just need some time."

"I know," he whispered, staring at the ground, "I will give you eternity, but…"

"Yes, Jacob," I said with a smile, knowing what he was going to say, "now come on, I would like to show off to all the res girls that all want you that I am the girlfriend to the very sexy Jacob Black."

Jacob's face was beaming; he was beyond happy and so was I. I did not know what would meet us as we travelled down the road of life but that didn't matter. All that did matter was that Jacob and I were happy and in love; for the moment, that was all I needed.

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**Edward's Point of View**

_It has been three days since I last saw her and I could not wait to have her in my arms while her warm, succulent blood filled my mouth. We would arrive in Forks just after four in the morning. The Volturi always traveled in style so our vehicle would undoubtedly stand out to the people in Forks. That was not an issue by any means. Bella would be asleep; I would have her in the vehicle and the process already began before she knew what was going on. It would be swift; in and out of Forks before Charlie ever woke up to find his daughter gone. The wolf's heart would be broken – especially when it will be my mate that will rip his throat out. Bella would be mine for all eternity, the way it was meant to happen…_

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_Dun dun dun…. Lol, sorry. _

_I really hope you like that I did with this. It was a unique twist that I love; I prefer this to the old one... The next chapter may have some of what went on at the BBQ, I'm not sure or it will have the Volturi, I haven't decided yet. What do you guys think?_

_This is such a cute chapter; understand that Bella is having a hard time and that it's not always easy to heal and move on even if you've let that person go. I've been down this road, no fun, but hey – I married the guy I met after my massive heartbreak. Life works out that way sometimes!_

_BTW - My son cut his first tooth!!! YAY!!!  
_

_Read and Review!!! Please check out those vids! Lemme know what you think!!!_


	8. Chapter 7: To Make Her Mine

**Chapter 7: To Make Her Mine**

_It is finally here! I am so sorry for such a long wait; I have had a week from hell. First, there was a massive family war, then both my husband I get fired then my son gets horribly sick. Needless to say, it has been hectic. I am back now and with a chapter. _

_To my fans – I cannot thank you enough for the response this fan fiction is getting. I have only written seven chapters and I have already reached 45 reviews! That is insane. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I haven't had a chance to reply to the reviews yet, but I will! Another chapter will be done in a day or two._

_I don't own this, everything belongs to Mrs. Stephenie_

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_**Edward's POV**_

4 A.M.

Just as I suspected; in just a few short minutes, Bella would be mine.

Aro and I were sitting in the back of a black stretch limo with Jane by our sides as a means of protection. The others were in a limo behind us. The town of Forks was a ghost town this time of day; no one would know we were here. I was being careful not to make my final decision until the very last moment so that Alice would be caught off guard. I knew she was watching. As we approached the Swan residence, I could smell Bella's sweet arom- I smiled. Soon I would have her to myself.

Without a word, I excused myself from the limo, Jane behind me to stand guard outside and I leaped to the window I always used to sneak into her room. I slid into it with no problem at all. I was just seconds away... I hissed when I landed. She was not here. It was four in the morning and Bella was not in her own bed, which could only mean she was in his bed. I growled.

I went to leave when suddenly; an idea crept into my mind. If I could not surprise Bella and take her like an unexpected feast... then I could take her as part of a trade. Her life for... Charlie's!

I made my way into Charlie's room undetected. I stood beside his bed as the possibilities ran through my mind. We would take him too Volterra and I knew Bella would come, the wolf pack too and possibly the Cullen's. They would all die and Bella would be mine for all time. It was perfect.

I quickly knocked over a lamp, and as I expected, Charlie bolted out of bed, ready to attack. I swiftly hit him in the side of the head, without using much force, and rendered him out conscious. I scooped up his limp body and jumped out of Charlie's bedroom window, glass shattering everywhere around me. I hit the grass without a sound and raced towards the limo, Jane right behind me.

When I got into the limo, I threw Charlie's limp body onto the floor. Aro and Jane looked at me, highly confused.

I glared at the small blonde girl, answering her thought, "This is Bella's father, Charlie. Bella was not home, she is probably with the wolf. Alice will know by now what I have done. The Cullen's will not risk exposure by attempting to stop us here in Forks. They will tell Bella about Charlie's abduction and bring here right to me..."

Aro smirked, "You're going to make her trade her own life for her fathers. It is brilliant! But of course, he will still need to be executed."

Edward nodded, "Yes, I know. She won't even realize what is happening once the venom takes over."

The limo began to drive off, leaving the small town of Forks. Everything was working out as planned - soon Bella would be mine and Jacob would be dead. I smirked, I loved my new life. I could have anything I wanted - even if I had to take it with force.

The drive was silent until the limo came to a screeching stop. Aro yelled something to the driver in Italian but I was not listening, I was searching for a voice inside my head. I finally found it, Jasper and Emmet were standing in front of the Limo - attempting to prevent us from getting anywhere with Charlie. Perhaps they were stupid - they were risking exposure, which would ultimately cost them their lives. A price they were seemingly willing to pay for the life of a pathetic mortal man.

I opened the door to the limo and gracefully stood up. I walked over to the front of the glistening black vehicle and stood in front of it, staring down my former brothers. Emmet's thoughts were full of anticipation of a fight while Jasper's thoughts were full of angst - regret and sadness for what has come of me in my new life.

"Leave," I hissed, venom filling my mouth, "this does not concern you."

"You're damn right it does!" Emmet snapped, "this isn't you man. You're not a monster, why are you acting like you are?"

I laughed, such stupidity from the large gorillia-like man, "Look at us, we are monsters! Stop fighting your nature!"

My eyes locked with Jasper, "Jasper, my dear friend, stop tourturing yourself. Join me... You will never suffer another day!"

Jasper hissed, "I will never allow myself to become like you again!"

I smirked, "You are walking a dangerous road, brothers. You are risking exposure and you know what the price is."

"We do not care, Edward," the soft velvet voice sung to me - Esme, "Charlie is family to us. We protect our family, no matter what."

My head snapped around. Esme stood there, as elegant and maternal as ever. She looked like her heart had been broken while her thoughts spoke with such great sorrow. She was mourning me although I was still very much alive. This broke my heart - Esme was my mother now. She had always been there whenever I needed her. The first time I went on a rebellious rampage, she took me back into her arms and mothered me back to sanity, as Alice once put it. That was shortly after I killed that nieve young girl Elizabeth and that stupid dog...

Wait a second. No - that was not possible. My world began to sping around me as if I was caught in the middle of a tornado. Elizabeth... The taste of her blood reappeared in my mouth as the memory of Bella in the ballet studio came fludding back to me. Their blood was the same smooth texture, the same exilierating taste... Elizabeth was Bella. I had somehow found the silly soul of that girl here in Forks in the form of Isabella Swan. The dog... that stupid bastard brother of mine who nearly destroyed my family before influenze tore them from their lives - the one who died trying to protect his imprint... Jacob. Jacob Black was that bastard reincarnated and he was never going to leave my Bella alone just as he would not leave that stupid girl alone.

I growled as suddenly, all soft human feelings dissapeared from my body. This was my old chance to have Bella in my arms again. That dog had claimed her and now, I would take her and kill anything that tried to stop me.

My head snapped to Emmet as I lunged at him, teeth bared. He sensed my attack and leaped into the air. Jasper capitalized and crashed into me from the side, sending us both flying into a nearby tree. The sound was defening. There was no doubt that at least half of the street was now awake.

A half a dozen new voices began to flood my mind - all asking 'what was that sound'. I knew we had to get out of there before we were spotted. I got away from Jasper and rushed to the Limo to gather Charlie. I took off into the forests, Jasper, Emmet, Esme, Aro, Marcus, Demetiri and Jane behind me. I was heading for the most sacrid spot in Forks - Bella's meadow.

I tossed Charlie into the grass towards the centre of the meadow and waited. Within seconds, my new family stood behind me, while my old family took their stance in front of me. We were not meant to have this show down commence in Volterra, it was going to happen here in Forks.

"Give us back Charlie, Edward," Jasper said as a wave of calm surrounded me, "You do not want to do this."

I growled, "I think I know what I am doing. Bella will have a choice, save herself or her father but either way, one of them will die."

"Edward..." Esme said before she hit the floor in great pain.

Her scream filled the night air and immediately, Jane hit the floor. Without warning, Carlisle attacked her - causing her hold on Esme to break loose. Demetri growled and went to attack Carlisle but Emmet was on top of him before he had a chance to think about his next move. Jasper was lunging towards me while Aro and Marcus stepped aside. They were letting me fight this one out for myself. An honor I took with pride - they trusted me to deal with this matter without their assistance.

I got out of Jasper's way with little problem - before I knew it, a full out war had started. Emmet was enjoying his fight with Demetri - possibly a little too much, Carlisle and Esme were fighting with more grace than I had seen in a long time - expertly keeping Jane too occupied to use her painful ability while Jasper fought me with much expertise. It was in that moment I was glad that I had the ability to read the minds of others.

The battle raged on for what seemed like forever when out of nowhere, a loud howl broke through the sky. All the vampires paused mid-fight as five large dogs leaped into the meadow. I searched through them - the russet wolf was missing. This confused me a great deal; I attempted to read their minds in search of Jacob but their minds were a tight union all focused on me. Before I had a chance to react, a voice took command.

"Edward!" The voice belonged to my angel - Bella was finally within my grasp

If I had had a beating heart, it would have stopped the moment I laid eyes on her. She was wearing a large black tshirt with a wolf howling at the moon and a pair of incredibly baggy black sweat pants - it was obviously Jacob's clothes but regardless, she looked as perfect as ever. She was climbing off Jacob's back with a look that equaled his thoughts - she wanted to kill me. A moan broke the tension - Charlie was stirring.

"Charlie!" Bella shouted, running to his side in a panic.

I went to stop her, however, before I got the chance to even get close, the wolves were standing in-between us; Jacob was at her side, in case any of the members of my family tried anything. Jacob fell to the ground in searing pain, as his howl broke the night with a sound so loud it could wake the dead. Bella went dead in her tracks as she fell to her knees. She was feeling his pain - my heart fell, he imprinted on her. Carlisle ran to Jacob's side as Alice ran to Charlie's side and Sam took down Jane, pinning her to the floor. Esme took a motherly position over Bella, trying to calm her down. Aro and Marcus went to move forward but they were surrounded by Quil and Embry while Paul and Emmet dealt with Demetri; Jasper and Jared stuck to my side. This was a dangerous position for everyone - the slightest move could result in a total carnage.

Seconds passed, moments came and went as fastly as they appeared, all along, no one made a move. The members of the Volturi were not the ones in charge for once; domination belonged to the La Push dogs.

It was Bella who finally broke the tense silence - her beautiful voice was like a song in the night.

"Get out of here," her voice was venomous, "take your little group of bloodsuckers and get out of Forks and out of my life!"

I stood there, unsure of how to act or even what to think. I could not respond for the words could not form together, not even in my mind.

I looked around me and in a split second decision, I jumped away from Jasper and Jared, pushed Alice into a tree, gathered Charlie in my arms and ran as fast as I could. I could hear noises behind me; however, I knew I stood a chance, catching them on the element of surprise. I was not going to give up until Bella was mine once again.

No matter what it took.

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_There you have it. Edward has taken off with Charlie… I hope you all enjoy it! Please review!_


	9. Chapter 8: Making Sense of it All

**Chapter 8:  
Making Sense of It All**

_Sorry for this taking so long, things have been crazy. I am currently watching my son and nieces three days a week while working four days a week at two jobs. My husband is still unemployed so I am trying to make things work. I am a good ways through the next chapter, I just held onto this one for as long as I could incase changes happened, which they did. Thank you for your reviews; you know how much I love them._

_I am currently looking for a Beta. If you are interested, let me know!_

_This is the first time I have ever done a chapter that "crossed over" into another chapter. Last chapter was seen through Edward's mind while this one is being seen through Bella's. I wanted to fill in the gap between the BBQ and the Meadow so the first part of the chapter is backtracked. It will continue the story from where the last chapter left off; however, I just wanted to fill all the holes first. _

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**Bella's POV**

The days following the barbeque at the Clearwater's were nice. Things were peaceful for once. I saw Jacob more now that the wolves had fewier patrols. Two new wolves had also joined the pack - Leah Clearwater, the first and only female wolf known to the Quileute wolves; the other was Seth Clearwater, the youngest to join the pack.

Jacob was in charge of helping Seth train while Paul and Jared got the displeasure of dealing with Leah.

Becoming a part of this pack has been the worst thing for poor Leah. Jacob told me her story and I couldn't help but want to cry for her. She was engaged and planning her life with Sam then imprinting tore them apart. I understand it isn't something that they can control but did have to be on her cousin Emily, who was also her best friend? Talk about adding insult to injury.

My relationship with Jacob had grown a fair bit over the past few days. I was slowly letting myself trust him. Healing was harder than I imagined it could be but Jacob was patient with me. We shared countless talks about how I was feeling and not once did he resort to insulting Edward or the others; it was a welcoming change. It showed me that Jacob was serious about things between us. For this, I was thankful.

The Cullen's were back in school to finish off the year and there was buzz everywhere about where Edward was. Jessica and Lauren blamed me saying I chased him away. Whatever. I didn't care all that much. I spent the majority of my lunch hour with Alice, Jasper and Angela when she would leave the regular group to get away from the gossip. Emmet wanted to spend more time with me; however, Rosalie rarely let that happen. Of all the Cullen's, I always thought she would understand the most. She was against me becoming a vampire saying she never wanted this life for herself yet she hated me because I apparently chose Jacob instead of Edward when more than anything I was choosing life over death. It didn't make any sense to me.

With the threat of Edward and the Volturi quite real, if I wasn't with Jacob then I was with Alice and Jasper or the rest of the Cullen's. Even Jacob occassionally sucked up his pride and hung out when Alice and Jasper were at my house. Today, Rosalie and Emmet were in Vancover to do some shopping and hunting since they were under the clouds so Jacob and I were going to spend the day at the Cullen residence to try to decide what to do about the Volturi threat.

My eyes fluttered open as I looked around the room that surrounded me. I was lying in Jacob's room, I could tell by the size of it. I looked out the window it was dark. It was probably sometime early in the morning. I pushed the blankets off my body and realized I was wearing Jacob's shirt and sweats. I felt a grin spread across my face as I remembered the events that conspired the day before.

The pack was having a get together at First Beach as a way to congradulate Jacob for taking Victoria down. As the night carried on, so did their desire to cause trouble with the imprintees. As a result, despite the cooler than normal temperature, Kim and I ended up in the water - clothes and all. I was pretty pissed at Jacob. However, how I ended up asleep in his bed was something I didn't know.

I staggered out of the bedroom and into the living room to find Jacob and Sam half asleep talking to... Alice?!

"Bella!" Alice exclaimed with frustration in her eyes, "Edward has lost it!"

I looked at Jacob and Sam confused. I was going to ask what was going on but Sam and Jacob were already gone, sending their call into the nighttime sky. They were calling the pack - something bad was happening.

"What's going on?"

I looked at Alice with panic in my eyes; she knew I wanted a no bullshit answer. She sighed heavily and pulled me into a hug; her body was trembling. If vampires could cry, I would imagine she would be doing so now.

"He came to your house this morning to kidnap you in your sleep and change you before you could react." Alice started as my tears found my eyes, "The family was on their way there when he realized you weren't. I came here to tell the pack but then when he realized you were gone, he took Charlie."

My eyes widened, tears poured and my body began to shake violently. "WHAT?!"

I ran out the door and began running towards my truck. I was just starting to get up the walkway when Alice grabbed my arm and a large russet wolf stood in front of me with sad eyes. Alice let me go when she noticited Jacob in front of me, nuzzling my arm.

"I have to go Jacob!" I snapped through tears.

Jacob shook his head and motioned his head towards the large pack of wolves that were gathering on the lawn and then towards Alice. I looked back at Alice, reading her face. She was worried about Charlie but I could also see confidence that her family was doing all they could at that moment to protect Charlie. I let me knees collapse me onto the ground. Before I hit the ground, Jacob slid under me, allowing me to fall into a heap of fur. I broke out into uncontrolable sobs - I never wanted Charlie to be a part of this world and now he was. For all I know, Edward was going to kill him or use him as a trade to get me to be with him. I felt Jacob gently lick my hand; he was trying to tell me that everything was going to be alright and I wanted to believe him but I couldn't. I knew deep down in the pit of my stumach that something in my life was going to change.

Alice knelt down beside Jacob and me, laying a gentle hand on my shoulder. I knew it was time for the pack to go. I also knew I wasn't going to go without knowing if Charlie was alright or not.

"We all know you're coming, I have already told Sam... Well, I think it was Sam." Alice said with a smirk. "Anyway, I told him your mind was already made up. I am going to go with the pack; you ride on Jacob's back."

I nodded as I stepped away from Jacob, allowing him to stand on all fours. He stood beside me, confident and proud - for some reason he was excited about having me ride on his back. I would have to ask him about it some other time. I looked at Alice and held onto her as tight as I could.

"Be careful." I whispered into her ear, my voice trembling in fear. "Where are they?"

"Jasper and Emmet were able to stop them from leaving town." Alice said with a smile. "Edward took off with Charlie to the Meadow."

Of course, he did; it had to be the Meadow. I sighed and nodded towards Alice who took off with the wolf back right behind her. I never imagined I would see the day when Sam was following the lead of a vampire but in a situation such as this, I suppose it made sense.

Jacob whimpered as he knelt down so that I could climb on his back. I straddled his back and wrapped my arms around his kneck. I prayed that I wouldn't fall off and kill myself - I knew Jacob would never forgive himself if it happened. Jacob let out a howl and broke out into a medium-paced run.

Riding on Jacob's back was exelerating and very free. I felt like the world was melting around me and the only thing that remained whole was the Russet wolf under me - I didn't even feel whole at that moment. I simply felt as free as a bird. Jacob had told me countless times that one of the things he loved about being a wolf was the running; I finally understood why he loved it so much.

My thoughts were shattered when Sam's defening howl filled the sky - they had reached the Meadow. I felt my body tense up. I didn't know what to expect once Jacob and I made our arrival. All I could do at that moment was pray that Charlie was alright.

As we approached the Meadow, everyone was locked in stares. It didn't take me long to figure out who the members of the Volturi were. There was a big guy close to Emmet, an impossibly young blonde girl near Carlisle and Esme while two older men stood to the side, almost as if they were observing. I scanned the Meadow, searching for Charlie but it was dark. Jacob's head motioned towards the middle of the Meadow where a body laid. My heart stopped - Charlie. I climbed off Jacob as my eyes caught the one person I didn't want to see, Edward. I felt Jacob trembling at my side; both from anger and fear. I knew he was still afraid that he was going to lose me to Edward. I wanted to run to Charlie to see if he was alright but I knew the danger in that.

"Edward!" I finally called out breaking the eerie silence

All eyes fell onto me in that moment. If looks could have killed, I could imagine that Edward would have dropped dead. I hated that man now more than I ever imagined I could. Jacob let out a deep growl and I couldn't help but smirk. I knew he felt the same way that I did. I stared at Edward for a moment in disbelief. He looked nothing like the man I once loved so desperately. He had lost all humanity in his face and although he was dressed impecably well, he looked like hell. His eyes were blood red like a monster, the dark circles under his eyes were darker then I remembered while his skin was paler than anything I had ever seen before.

A moan broke the tension - Charlie was stirring.

"Charlie!" I shouted, running to his side in a panic - thank god he was alive!

Edward tried to stop me, however, before he even got the chance to get close, the wolves were standing in-between us; Jacob was at my side within seconds, in case any of the members of the Volturi, including Edward tried anything.

Suddenly Jacob fell to the ground in searing pain as his howl broke the night with a sound so loud it could wake the dead. The most incredible pain shot through me; however, it was a different kind of pain. It wasn't my own pain that I was feeling... It was... Jacob's. I crumbled to my knees, unable to support myself. Carlisle ran to Jacob's side as Alice ran to Charlie's side while Sam took down the blonde girl, pinning her to the floor.

"It is alright, my dear." Esme's smooth velvety voice said softly. "Jacob will be just fine. He is such a strong young man."

I glanced up and saw that the wolves had everything under control, just as I knew they would. The two older looking vampires looked incredibly uncomfortable with the wolves surrounding them. The vampires weren't the ones in control, which was incredible - the La Push Wolves were the ones calling the shots!

I finally broke the tension.

"Get out of here!" My voice was venomous. "Take your little group of bloodsuckers and get out of Forks and out of my life!"

Edward just stared at me with a dumbfound expression on his face. He looked around him for a second and that's when everything changed. Edward leaped away from Jasper and Jared, pushed Alice into a tree, and gathered Charlie in his arms and dissapeared. I stood there, in shock, unsure of what to think or feel. I hit the floor as I watched the members of the Volturi dissapear with members of the pack and Cullen's behind them. Jacob, Esme and I were the only ones left in the meadow. It was in that moment that fear and grief washed over me. Charlie was gone and Edward was probably going to kill him.

"How about we go back to our house? It's much safer there." Esme's voice was soft and motherly. "Do not worry about a thing my dear, they will find Charlie and they will make sure that nothing happens to him."

My head shot up as my eyes locked with hers. Despite all this hectic chaos, she seemed rather confident. It was a welcomed feeling for me right now.

Esme knelt down beside Jacob and whispered something to him. I couldn't make out what she said though; she spoke at a level far too quiet for human ears. When she stood up once again, Jacob struggled to get himself to his feet. Once on his feet, he shook his head hard and looked at us with determination. He walked over to me, nudged my hand before he turned around to run.

"Jacob Black!" I shouted towards him

He stopped in his tracks and he gave me a determained stance; I knew I had to let him go.

"Be careful!" I shouted to him as he ran off into the darkness

I whispered that I loved him and I wondered if he heard me; I some how doubted it. I then found myself wondering if I truly did. I knew I loved Jacob but in what way? Was I in-love with him? I had been in love with Edward but my feelings towards Jacob felt a lot different. That's what confused me the most - didn't love just feel the same as long as you were in-love with someone or was it different with each person you fell for?

"How was he able to just get up like that? I felt what he did," I was confused about it, "it was excruciating."

"That's because her ability is the illusion of pain." a voice said from the darkness, "Once the hold is broken the pain subsides."

Esme croutched down ready to attack but I knew the voice. It belonged to Rayne. I put my hand out, signaling Esme not to attack. Rayne stepped out from a gathering of tress - this time she wasn't in my mind, she was real.

"Rayne," I said quietly with confusion in my voice, "what are you doing here? How are you here?"

She smirked. "I am here to help. This situation if getting out of hand. Edward was never supposed to go off the deepend like he has. I'm here because I was told to be - it's my job to make sure things happen as they should."

"How could you possibly know what is meant to happen?"

"She is from the future." Esme whispered, putting the pieces together. "I thought you were merely a prophecy."

"Bella once thought vampires were just creatres in fiction." She stated, "Problem with prophecies is that they usually come true."

"Prophecy?" I asked, looking at the two. "What prophecy?"

Rayne shook her head. "That isn't of any importance right now. Esme, you must bring Bella to the cottage by your residence. Jacob will come to her there."

Esme nodded. "Yes, of course. Will you go find them then?"

She shook her head once more. "No. I need to stay away from Edward at this time. He cannot get in my head. If he does, this situation could get a whole lot worse."

"I agree." Esme nodded. "Come Bella, don't worry about Charlie, he is in good hands."

Esme and I stood in the centre of the meadow for a moment, unmoving, no words spoken - everything was changing quickly and nothing was certain anymore.

I turned and looked at Esme, without another word we walked off towards the cottage Rayne instructed I go. It was natural for Esme to be the one who stays back to protect me. She wasn't much of a fighter but she could hold her own when necessary, like earlier; she just preferred not to fight.

The walk to the cottage was quiet and rather long - or so it seemed. I didn't even realize we got there when we did. My mind was just far to gone with worry to know anything.

When we finally stopped walking, we were standing in front of a small, yet beautiful cottage. It was a dark brown full log cabin with beautiful burnt orange color around the windows and door. Esme opened the door and lead me inside the cottage; it was impeccably decorated to the style of Mr. and Mrs. Cullen - full of paintings and large bookcases. The colors that surrounded me were a peaceful eartly glow.

"This is one of four cottages we have surrounding the property." Esme explained, "One belongs to Rosalie and Emmet, another Jasper and Alice while this one belongs to Carlisle and myself. We come here when we want time to just get away from the world."

"Did the fourth belong to Edward?" I asked quietly as I took in the beauty around me

She shook her head sadly. "No. We were hoping to give it to him in the event he got married. It is currently vacant."

I nodded, not needing to say more. I found my way to a large leather chair and allow myself to become buried in it. I glanced over at the large coocoo clock, undoubtably imported from Germany, and sighed heavily as I rubbed my eyes. The last thing I remember before drifting off into a dreamless slumber was reading ten after five.

I awoke to the sounds of muffled howls outside the cottage. When my eyes fluttered open, I was lying on a large king sized bed surrounded by the warm glow of sunlight.

"Good morning, my dear." It was Esme; she was standing at the foot of the bed, laying a change of clothing down. "I hope you do not mind that I brought you in here. I wanted you to get some rest."

I smiled sweetly as I sat up, stretching my limbs. "Thank you, Esme. You don't need to do any of this."

Esme sat down on the bed beside me and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Bella, dear, just because you and Edward are no longer together, that does not mean that I do not still see you as one of my own. You will always be a member of this family."

Tears began to welt in my eyes. I loved all the members of the Cullen family like they were a part of mine. I sometimes wondered if that was why I was so depressed when Edward left all those months ago. I didn't only lose a boyfriend; I also lost my extended family. Jacob believed that it was a very likely possibility that losing them as well played a factor in my behavior.

Esme wrapped her arms around me and though she was ice cold and hard as granite, a warm presense came off her that reminded me of Renee. Moments passed in silence as the tears flowed from my eyes. I didn't realize how much pent up fustration I had in my system and to be honest, it felt great to get it out.

Esme planted a kiss on my forhead just before she gracefully stood up, "Jacob is back. I left you a change of clothes; feel free to take some time before coming out."

I nodded as she slid out of the room with poise. I sighed as I grabbed the clothing off the end of the bed - it was curtosy of Alice but at least she tried to stay within my own personal style. It was a pair of dark blue straight-legged jeans, blue sneakers and a black hooded sweater. I slid into the clothes quickly before I walked out into the main portion of the cottage. It took me all of thirty seconds to scan the area; Jacob, who was obviously hurt with bandages around his torso, Seth, Leah, Rayne and the Cullen's minus Carlisle were all around one another having an obviously serious conversation. Charlie. My heart sank - what happened? Was he dead?

"Where's Charlie?" I asked, my voice shaking

-----

_And I am ending it with a cliffhanger! I will try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can!_


	10. Authors Notes Chapter 9 preview

All right…

I know it has been next to forever since I last updated this fic. Please understand that things have just been insane for me. The main reason all this happened: my phone broke. The chapter I was almost done was lost forever. I had to re-write it and it is turning out to be a long one. It is something like 5,000+ words and 10+ pages so far… so we will see how much longer.

Other than that, here is a sneak peak of Chapter Nine as my way of saying thanks…

Rayne looked over at Esme who nodded in approval towards her. I looked at them both confused. Why was she looking to Esme for approval? I suddenly felt my stomach drop - I knew I was probably not going to like what she had to tell me.

"I am both vampire and werewolf..."

"What?" I shouted in disbelief, not meaning to cut her off. "How is that possible?"

Rayne's eyes burned into my skull, she was not impressed with me cutting her off.

"I am the first of my kind. My mother is a pale face immortal who was once mortal before a vampire attempted to turn her; something in her blood prevented her from being turned yet made her immortal and my father is a Quileute shape shifter. A war started when I was seventeen. The same vampire who bit my mother," she paused for a moment as she swallowed tears. I could have sworn that her eyes lost any form of life for that brief moment, "bit me. It should have killed me, especially considering I had already begun phasing, but instead it turned me. The ability to phase came with me along with the ability to take control of people's minds, time travel and show people the future. I have the strength and ability of both a shape shifter and the cold ones."

I sighed, that was a lot to take in. I felt myself slowly start to feel sorry for the young girl.

"That doesn't answer my question."

She smirked. "My abilities Jacob."

"When you say your abilities you mean mind control, time travel and the ability to show ones future, right?" I stated.

Rayne nodded. "Before Bella jumped from the cliff I told her what her future would be if she jumped then showed her what it would be if she didn't."

"What was her future if she jumped?" I somehow suspected that was the part I was not going to like; I needed to know.

Rayne looked at Esme and sighed heavily. "Alice would have seen her jump in a vision and would have come here to tell her. Just as the you and Bella would have shared the kiss to seal your fate together, breaking the spell of sorts she was under, Edward would have called saying he was Carlisle wanting to talk to Charlie because Rosalie would have told him you she dead .and you would've told him that Charlie was planning a funeral."

"But Bella..." Rosalie began to say, appearing out of nowhere but Rayne but her hand up to silence her.

Rosalie hissed at her but Rayne simply ignored her and continued speaking.

"Alice would have come in and said that Edward was planning on going to the Volturi to die too and they would have run off to Italy to save him." Rayne looked at me with sympathetic eyes. That part had all happened, just differently but the key points all still commenced. This was the part I knew I was not going to like. "I told Bella that following the trip, her and Edward would have gotten back together and eventually married. She would have become pregnant with his child, a vampire/human hybrid and would have nearly died giving birth. Edward would have changed her into a vampire and you... You would have imprinted on Bella and Edward's daughter Renesmee."

My world came crashing down on me. I didn't hear much of what Rayne said after she told me that Bella knew if she jumped, her and Edward would have been together. She jumped - she chose to be with him.


	11. Chapter 9: Unbroken Bonds

_I am having nothing but bad luck as of late. The cord for my laptop decided to die so I had no way of posting for sometime. Thankfully, my mom has lent me her netbook until the cord has been replaced!_

_The other reason it took so long was because of my son. On my birthday (March 1st) stopped breathing. Thankfully we had a sensor monitor and were able to take action before something horrible happened. The last few weeks have been running back and forth to doctors in attempt to find out what's wrong. Thankfully they have and we can now move forward._

_I am also considering re-writing some chapters to expand them, make them longer and more detailed. I'll figure that out soon enough._

_From now on, I am going to TRY to update at least once a week._

_Enjoy all!_

**Chapter Nine:  
Unbroken Bonds**

**Jacob's POV**

It wasn't hard to find the pack, despite how far a head of me they were. I was easily the fastest of the pack so I knew I would catch up to them in a decent amount of time. Seth came out of some trees beside me, followed by Leah. They hadn't originally come out for this mission but I suppose that Sam must have called for them; either that or the Elders sent them.

"Elders," Seth replied to my thought, "they suggested we come and help anyway we could."

Of course they did. The Elders were always extra cautious when it came to this sort of thing. I shook my head and continued to run. I tried my best to block out Leah's thoughts, there was enough on my mind and the last thing I needed was to deal with her permanent bad mood.

"I don't exactly like listening to you either, Jacob." Leah snapped back at me, "It always has something to do with that leech-lover. Its disgusting really."

I chose to ignore her just as I generally tried to do. The three of us ran in perfect unison; we blended together better than the rest of the pack did. It was as if we were meant to run together as a unit. Seth seemed to agree with me, saying that it felt much more natural then running with Sam.

"You are the rightful Alpha, Jacob!" Seth commented causing Leah to mutter something about testosterone

"I don't want to be, Alpha, Seth." I answered simply. "Do you hear that?"

"They're just up a head!" Leah exclaimed

We broke through the final gathering of trees with force. The clearing was completely surrounded by the pack and the Cullen's, there was no way that Edward and his gang of blood suckers were leaving with Charlie. Edward stood in the centre of the clearing with Charlie at his feet, staring at me. The tension between everyone became incredibly tense - it was obvious that both sides were waiting for an opportunity to seize the moment. Sam ordered us to remain concentrated on the situation at hand, being careful not to think of what our moves were to be. I had forgotten that Edward had the ability to read minds.

"Don't!" Sam ordered, trying to make me buckle under his alpha command but I resisted. "Jacob, fall back!"

The entire pack felt the affect of his order towards me, however, I refused to buckle under him. I let my mind flow the memory of Bella and I in my bedroom before the Clearwater's barbeque. I growl escaped Edward's throat and then he did exactly what I wanted him to do, he attacked.

I met his attack half way and the two of us hit the floor with a force so strong, it sounded like a tree had fallen. Chaos erupted all around me as the blonde vampire and steroids began attacking as well. I wasn't all that concerned; they were horribly out numbered.

Suddenly, I felt that familiar horrific pain surge through me and I hit the floor with a thud. I tried to remember what Esme had told me earlier, it wasn't real. She was manipulating my mind. I seemed to gather the attention of Edward and his pals as I began to stand up despite her control of me.

"Keep fighting it, Jake!" I heard Leah shout at me. "It's working!"

"Impossible!" I heard one of the old looking blood suckers exclaim. "I have never seen anyone be able to resist Jane's power! This is truly extraordinary!"

As I held onto control of my own mind, I could feel my body start to give up on me. I knew I had to keep resisting, no matter how bad the pain was. I was giving my pack a chance to capitalize and end this once and for all.

Jared and Paul lunged at the blood sucker on steroids while Sam, Emmett and Seth went after Edward. The rest of the pack and Cullen's went after the two old leeches. Everyone left the blonde vampire alone - which is exactly what I wanted them to do. Her ability posed the biggest threat out of all of them and with her power focused, she was no longer a threat to the rest of my allies.

I heard a yelp that nearly broke my concentration and rendered me useless. Paul was sent crashing into a tree, injuring him rather significantly.

"Attack him!" I shouted within my thoughts in a voice I never knew I had before - alpha.

Sam was going to have my behind on a platter later for that one.

Within seconds, the Cullen's took over the battle with the older vamps while the pack, minus Seth and Sam attacked steroids, ripping him apart limb for limb.

A horrific scream filled the air, knocking my concentration. I hit the floor with a thud. In the corner of my eye, I saw Seth leap towards the blonde vampire, sending her crashing into a near by tree. Her hold on me was destroyed.

"Help Charlie!" Seth shouted at me, "Thank me later!"

I slowly forced myself to stand up, repeating over and over that it was simply an illusion. I staggered over to Charlie - my heart nearly stopped. On his neck was a large bite mark. Edward had already begun pumping venom through his blood stream. I didn't know much about the transformation process but I did know that he didn't have much time. I stood over Charlie and let out a deafening howl. Carlisle was at my side within an instant, momentarily leaving Paul's side. He looked at me with a concerned look on his face - I knew he was going to have to break a key point in the treaty.

"You are the grandson of Eupherium Black, you have as much right to allow a bend in the treaty as the alpha of the pack." Carlisle whispered gently to me, "If Charlie is to have a chance to survive, I will need to attempt to suck the venom from his blood stream. Edward did it to Bella some time ago. It does come with its own set of risks of course. There is always a chance of too much blood being lost. I cannot do this unless I have your permission."

"No!" Sam shouted at me and I felt myself fighting his command once again. "I will not allow the treaty to be broken! He does not have permission! If he bites Charlie, it is over. The risk isn't worth it!"

I looked at Carlisle, then at Sam, then towards Charlie. Charlie was thrashing around in pain. My mind focused on Bella as I imagined her reaction to my telling her that her father was to be a vampire. I could feel her heart break. I knew the risks and I knew we were not to allow the Cullen's to bite a human, regardless of the situation. Sam had ordered it to not be done and I had the chance to over right that decision and give Charlie a chance to survive. The choice was an easy one. I was going to risk my place within my pack to save a single human life. I looked at Carlisle and nodded. I turned my head away as he began the process.

I quickly turned my attention to Edward and began to creep towards him. I was going to enjoy ripping his throat out.

"Try it, mongrel." He hissed at me

I lunged at him, snapping and growling. The two of us broke out into a massive battle that would certainly result in death. I wasn't afraid to die but I also knew that it wouldn't happen at the hands of Edward. I had enough motivation to end this now and go home to be with the woman I loved. She was the reason I had just disobeyed my alpha, risking everything for me and my pack life. She was the reason I was engaged in a battle with her ex-leech to the death. She was the reason I defied the odds and fought against Blondie powers. She was the reason for my strength.

I sent Edward into the ground with enough force to cause the area to shake. I had my paw on his throat, ready to begin dismemberment. I felt myself feel the victory upon me. A second later, Edward broke his hold on me and sent me flying into the forests. I landed on a broken tree - a branch wedging itself into my side. I howled out in pain.

I staggered to stand up - I was refusing to lose this battle. I forced myself to walk into the clearing once more, despite having a branch wedged painfully into my side. I was determined to end this now so that Bella and I could move on with a somewhat normal life.

By the time I made my way to the clearing, Edward and the three other vampires were gone. The pack was working on destroying the remains of the steroid leech we killed. Charlie and Carlisle were gone, as was Sam and Paul. I collapsed onto the floor - the world around me went black.

I woke up in what seemed like an eternity. I later found out I had only been out for an hour or so. Seth was sitting by my bed with a concerned look on his face. I went to say something but words wouldn't come; just the whimpers of a wounded animal.

"The Doctor wanted me to get you to phase as soon as you woke up." Seth said softly, "He dealt with your injuries while you were passed out. You're lucky you didn't puncture your lung but you have four broken ribs. Once you phase, it is going to hurt like a bitch and you are not allowed to phase again until your wounds are healed."

I closed my eyes and let my body take over. I cursed out profanities I probably shouldn't have in reaction to the pain I was in. I laid back on the bed, not caring that I was naked and didn't move. I needed a moment to let my body adjust to the pain. Seth turned to me once again and handed me a pair of Grey sweat pants that had an athletic look to them. I knew they belonged to Emmett.

"Thank you." I whispered as I struggled to sit up

Seth grabbed my side and helped me slowly get up. That was one thing I loved about pack life, they were there for you even when butt naked.

Once I was dressed, Seth walked out of the room to fetch the doctor. Although I knew that Carlisle was a good guy, it was still very weird for me to let a lee.. vampire work on me and be responsible for my well being. Bella adored and trusted him, therefore I think I could trust him. At least I hope I could.

The visit with Doctor Cullen was, well, better than I could have hoped. He seemed fascinated by the anatomy of a shape-shifter in both forms. The look over was fairly quick, done in under a half hour. The whole time, I will admit, I was a bit uncomfortable. His hands sent shivers down my spine the first few times he touched me. I was amazed with my self control around Carlise. A vampire was touching me - normally that would be enough to force a phase. Yet some how, I was able to resist the natural urges of my instincts.

I walked out of the Doc's office and instantly my nose wrinkled - the smell of Vampires was intense. The whole gang of them was here, including Blondie. I found myself wondering which of my brothers stayed here at the Cullen house - then I wondered what Sam had to say to me. I can imagine that he wasn't all that thrilled with me over throwing his Alpha orders; it needed to be done, regardless of what Sam or anyone else thinks.

When I reached the bottom of the stairwell, Esme offered me a small smile. There was something warm and comforting about her, even if I couldn't really explain it. She knew I was a werewolf and never had a problem with me whatsoever. She was always very welcoming and friendly; for that I could return the favor.

"Hello Esme," I said politely as I sat on the chair across from her, "how are you doing today?"

She smiled at me, "I am doing rather well, thank you. How are you feeling?"

"Sore," I responded with a smirk, "nothing I can't handle though. Thank you for helping Bella, I am truly grateful."

Esme nodded then disappeared into the other room, repairing a moment later with a plate in her hand. "I would do anything for Bella."

"I can see that." I took the plate that she offered me and took a bite. "Did you make this?"

"Yes, I made your brothers and Bella something to eat." Esme smiled and took a seat next to me. "I did not want anyone to go hungry."

"Thank you."

She smiled and nodded her head. "You are very welcome, my dear."

"How is Charlie?" I asked as the memories of what happened in the clearing came back to me. "Did he survive?"

"Yes, Carlisle was able to suck the venom from his blood stream before it had a chance to take affect." Esme smiled at me as she placed an ice cold hand on my leg. "He is over at the main house recovering now. Carlisle said it should be a few days until he is one hundred percent."

I let out a sigh of relief. Charlie was okay and hopefully this was the first step towards a little bit of normalcy for all of us. Problem was, Edward was still on the loose and there was no doubt that he would be coming back to try to get Bella.

In the corner of my eye, I noticed a tall young woman standing in the corner of the room, almost as if she were hiding from everyone. I spotted the tattoo on her arm and instantly stood from my chair. Esme noticed my sudden alert and her gaze found Jasper - a sudden wave of calm spread over me.

"There is no need to be on alert, Jacob." Esme whispered in a nurturing tone as she walked up beside me. "This is Rayne, she is an ally of ours."

My eyes never left her; she stood in the spot, unmoving with a smirk planted on her face. "Your tattoo, it is the mark of my brothers, sister and I. You are not one of us."

"Not from this time, at least." Rayne stated simply. "I have been waiting for you to wake up, Jacob Black."

"How do you know who I am?" I snapped, my voice full of furry

She laughed as she shook her head and for a moment, I swore I saw a bit of Bella in her movements. "Something big is going to happen and only you can alter the path it takes."

"Great, we have some know it all who likes to talk in riddles."

"Quiet!" She snapped at me. She walked up to be and had no fear as she got into my face. "I have helped Bella get this far and she was no where near as difficult. You have already altered the path once when you stopped Bella from jumping off the cliff and now you must do it again."

I decided to be less difficult with this young woman. I already knew there was no way she was going to back down. She was hot headed and stubborn; then again so was I. However, I knew this was the best way to keep things from getting out of hand.

"How do I do that and what do you mean I altered the path once already?"

Rayne looked over at Esme who nodded in approval towards her. I looked at them both confused. Why was she looking to Esme for approval? I suddenly felt my stomach drop - I knew I was probably not going to like what she had to tell me.

"I am both vampire and werewolf..."

"What?" I shouted in disbelief, not meaning to cut her off. "How is that possible?"

Rayne's eyes burned into my skull, she was not impressed with me cutting her off.

"I am the first of my kind. My mother is a pale face immortal who was once mortal before she was nearly turned by a vampire; something in her blood prevented her from being turned into a vampire yet made her immortal and my father is a Quileute shape shifter. There was a war that started when I was seventeen. The same vampire who bit my mother," she paused for a moment as she swallowed tears. I could have sworn that her eyes lost any form of life for that brief moment, "bit me. It should have killed me, especially considering I had already began phasing, but instead it turned me. The ability to phase came with me along with the ability to take control of peoples minds, time travel and show people the future. I have the strength and ability of both a shape shifter and the cold ones."

I sighed, that was a lot to take in. I felt myself slowly start to feel sorry for the young girl.

"That doesn't answer my question."

She smirked. "My abilities, Jacob."

"Mind control, time travel and the ability to show ones future." I repeated.

"Before Bella jumped from the cliff I told her what her future would be if she jumped then showed her what it would be if she didn't."

"What was her future if she jumped?" I somehow suspected that was the part I wasn't going to like; I needed to know.

Rayne looked at Esme and sighed heavily. "Alice would have seen her jump in a vision and would have come here to tell her. Just as the you and Bella would have shared the kiss to seal your fate together, breaking the spell of sorts she was under, Edward would have called saying he was Carlisle wanting to talk to Charlie because Rosalie would have told him you she dead .and you would've told him that Charlie was planning a funeral."

"But Bella..." Rosalie began to say, appearing out of no where but Rayne but her hand up to silence her.

Rosalie hissed at her but Rayne simply ignored her and continued speaking.

"Alice would have come in and said that Edward was planning on going to the Volturi to die too and they would have ran off to Italy to save him." Rayne looked at me with sympathetic eyes. That part had all happened, just differently but the key points all still commenced. This was the part I knew I wasn't going to like. "I told Bella that following the trip, her and Edward would have gotten back together and eventually married. She would have become pregnant with his child, a vampire/human hybrid and would have nearly died giving birth. Edward would have changed her into a vampire and you... You would have imprinted on Bella and Edward's daughter Renesme."

My world came crashing down on me. I didn't hear much of what Rayne said after she told me that Bella knew if she jumped, her and Edward would have been together. She jumped - she chose to be with him.

I looked up at the young woman as I fought back the tears that were threatening to break free. Empathy swam in her beautiful face that reminded me so much of the woman I loved. My voice shook as I spoke, "what would have happened if she didn't jump?"

"That's the thing, Jacob," she started with a little bit of hope in her voice, "in that version of the story, history would have repeated itself just as it did back in 1918. Both you and Bella would have died at the hands of Edward Volturi."

My eyes widened in disbelief and I stumbled backwards. Everything began to fall into perspective. Bella didn't make the choice that she did so that she could be with Edward, she did it so that she could sacrifice her life with me so that we both could live.

"Not exactly." Rayne whispered as she fell into the black sofa. I looked at her confused before remembering that she could take control of minds. "I can read them when I want, it is a form of controlling their mind. I sort of just sit there in their mind and listen. It's actually kind of cool."

"What did you mean by not exactly?" This time it was Alice who broke the teenager from her off topic ramble.

"Oh, sorry." Rayne blushed, somehow color coming to her cheeks. "It's the wolf in me. I'm not as cold as they are but I'm not as warm as you yet I'm still colder then a human. It's a bit of a tongue twister I know but anyway, Bella didn't make the decision because she wanted you both to live..."

"She wanted Jacob to live." Jasper finished.

Rayne nodded. "Yeah, that's about right. Jacob, you and Bella have such a complex relationship each time your reincarnated and for centuries the same thing keeps happening. Yet for some reason, you intervened and stopped Bella from jumping."

"That's why the Cullen's still came back and tried to get Bella to go with them." Seth stated from the entrance of the room. "Jacob didn't pull Bella from the water, which is what I am assuming would have happened had Bella jumped. Yet, Bella still chose to jump so it is kinda like both happened and it messed up the natural order of things."

"Smart boy." Rayne said

"This is so complicated." Leah said shaking her head. "It's kinda hard to make ends of everything."

"I know. Jacob has changed the future so much. Had Bella chosen not to jump both of you would already be dead." Rayne stated. "That is why I am saying that only Jacob can prevent the big stuff from happening or at the very least, change its course."

"What's going to happen?" asked Leah

"That I cannot tell you." Rayne replied simply. "I have limitations to my abilities. If I were to tell you that then I would need to be executed immediately. My only other limitation is if I were to stop time. I do that, I die instantly."

Everyone's eyes fell onto Rayne.

"You can stop time?" Esme asked, disbelief dancing in her sing-song voice.

"Yes ma'am," Rayne responded in a fake southern accent. "I just don't though. I'd rather help people make the decisions necessary to prevent time stoppage."

"Isn't that going against a persons will though?" Rosalie asked

"Not at all. It's more like giving an individual a choice then letting them take the path they want." Rayne replied. "That's all I did with Bella. I gave her a choice and she made it. I had nothing to do with Jacob interfering."

"You didn't?" Seth asked and Rayne shook her head. Seth turned to me and asked, "then how did you know she was going to jump?"

All eyes were now on me. Rayne seemed to be the most curious of all the people in the tiny cottage.

"I don't know really." I responded trying to think back to that day. "I was out doing my rounds to see if I could pick up Victoria's scent when I got this gut feeling that something was wrong with Bella. So, I disobeyed Sam's order of staying away from Bella while on patrol unless it was life or death and picked up her scent in La Push and followed it. I saw her about to jump and grabbed her just as her feet left the cliff."

"Could his imprint instincts have somehow picked up on what Bella was doing?" This time it was Leah who asked the question which surprised me. Leah was usually the type to stay away from any conversation regarding imprinting.

"I would imagine it is possible." Esme responded. "I do not know much regarding it but I know how I feel about Carlisle. You cannot change who your soul mate is, regardless of any trance or spell or what ever it was that Edward held Bella in. You always have that connection to them and I know that I would know if Carlisle was in danger. Maybe this time around you have allowed yourself to become part of Bella and you somehow had that imprint connection without actually imprinting on her."

"It seems like it would make sense." Seth stated. "Maybe its something we could talk to my mom or Billy about since you probably don't want to go anywhere near the Elders right now after using Alpha command and disobeying Sam."

Wasn't that the truth. The Elders probably wanted my head on a platter for what I have done today - imprint or not, we are never supposed to over ride our Alpha's command.

"Speaking of Sam," I said looking around the room, "where is he?"

"Not here, that's for sure." Leah said with a snicker. "He went ape shit after he phased back to human form and last I knew he was going back to La Push. He wants you to return to La Push as soon as you wake up, by the way, but I figured it would be better if you just stayed put."

"Why are you here then?" I asked

"We stayed, well, I can't speak for my sister but I stayed because I know you were right in your decisions." Seth responded with a smile on his face. "I don't care about what happens to me. In my eyes, you're the rightful Alpha anyway."

"Seth," my voice was firm but no where near Alpha, "I don't want to be an Alpha. It's just not a responsibility that I want."

"I don't think you'll have much of a choice when Sam and the Elder's are done with you." Alice stated. She looked like she was in a daze. Jasper and Esme were by her side quickly. "Its blurry but I can see Bella arguing with Edward. I heard something about you being a rogue werewolf."

Great - I am facing exile. Was it worth it? Yeah. Would I do it again? In a heart beat. Did it suck? Without a doubt.

"Edward is coming back, but I think anyone saw that coming." Rayne stated being captain obvious. "Did you see if he was anyone or when he would be coming?"

"No," Alice replied sadly, "The wolves must have been present. It was all very blurry. Only thing I could make out is that is was dark."

"Great so he could come at anytime and just surprise us like he did the last time. There had to be a way to prevent those events from happening again." Seth stated

"There is." I started taking command of the situation. It surprised me how natural is came. "Until Charlie has made a complete recovery, he will stay here with the Cullen's, once he is better he will stay with Billy. As for Bella, I think we can split it up between being here or at her place, as long as someone is with her. We need to make it look like someone is there or else the neighbors will start getting suspicious."

"Sounds good, man." Seth said as he motioned towards the far side of the room where Bella now stood. "Hey Bella."

My body snapped around as I looked towards where Bella was standing looking frantic and worried. I rushed over to her side and wrapped my arms around her, taking every bit of her in. She quickly pulled away from me and looked me straight in the eyes; they were filled with sadness and concern and I knew they weren't for me.

"Where's Charlie?" She asked, sounding afraid, like she didn't want to know the answer

I smiled at her. "He is at the Cullen residence recovering. The Doc was able to suck the venom from his blood before any change took affect. He's going to be fine."

Bella let out a huge sigh of relief as tears began to form in her eyes. She wrapped her arms around me and squealed in happiness. I held onto her tightly, not wanting to let her go. Her body suddenly went tense and pulled away from me, this time panic filled her eyes.

"How much does he know?"

"That I don't know."

"He knows pretty much everything," Carlisle stated as he walked into the main room. "I had no choice but to tell him. He appeared to be okay with the fact that my family were vampires however, he did have a problem believing me about Jacob and the boys of the tribe."

"Is he awake?" Bella asked, pushing past me.

Carlisle nodded. "Yes, he asked to see you, Bella."

Bella was out of the cabin in no time flat, racing towards the Cullen mansion. Carlisle, Alice and I followed behind her. I suddenly stopped dead in my tracks; my body began to shake as the scent filled my nose. The smell of Vampires were everywhere, however, this smell was different. Bella spun around towards me and saw what was going on. I ran to her, yelling to Carlisle to protect Charlie. I phased on the fly and Bella climbed onto my back and bolted into the forests. Once in La Push, I could rally the pack... no. I couldn't put my people in harms way like that. I took Bella to my hidden place just on the outside of La Push.

There was an old abandoned cabin hidden in the trees. I fixed it up and I have turned it into a home of sorts. I always hoped to give Bella the cabin as Wedding present - even when she was still with Edward but at least it could act as a protector for Bella. Which is all I ever asked for.

Bella climbed off my back and I raced into a group of trees. I remembered leaving a pair of track pants inside the hut just on the east side of the cabin. At least I wouldn't have to worry about the awkwardness that nudity would bring; even if I wanted to naked with Bella.

It was in that moment I was glad Bella wasn't a mind reader.

I led her inside and swiftly closed the door behind her. I gave her a quick kiss on her cheek and did a fast once over around the cabin to make sure she was safe.

"Where are we?" Bella asked.

It was the first time she had spoken since we left the Cullen residence. She trusted my judgment when danger was around us. I felt pride fill the very essence of my soul; Bella knew I could protect her and she trusted me to do just that.

"This is my cabin. My home away from home if you will." I stated as I led Bella over to my makeshift living room/bedroom.

There was a large futon that was presently folded upwards to make a sofa with a large wolf throw blanket my sister Rachael had made for me as a birthday present and a small TV that I had gotten off Embry when his dad was going to throw it out. There was also a picture that Charlie had given me when my dad told him I was in love with his daughter. It was from when Bella and I were kids following one of the many fishing trips our fathers dragged us out on. We were both covered in mud from making mud pies. We had our arms around each other and our faces were pressed together. Bella caught sight of this in the corner of her eye. Her smile lit up the room as she remembered the simpler times we all once knew.

"We were good friends even then, weren't we?" She asked. Her smile grew as she looked at me. "My dad used to tell me 'you're going to marry Jacob Black. Mark my words.' I always thought he was crazy, especially after I met Edward."

I smirked. That sounded like something Charlie would say. My dad had been telling me that I would marry Bella for as long as I could remember. I never thought he was crazy. I suppose I'd always been in love with her in a way. There had never been anyone else that ever caught my attention, it was only ever Bella. That's all it would ever be.

"What about now?" I asked with a smirk on my face. "Do you still think he's crazy?"

She shrugged. "I never thought about getting married. To be honest, the thought of it scares the crap out of me."

"Because of your parents?"

I pulled Bella onto my lap and she curled her body into mine.

She nodded sadly into my neck, "Yeah, I think so. They married so young and my mom ended up running. It broke my dads heart and I guess it just... I don't know."

I hid my frown from her. Deep down, I knew she probably considered marrying Edward some day.

"Maybe it is something I would want in the future but I don't know." She sighed heavily. "I never even really thought about marrying Edward."

What happened next, I wasn't expecting. Bella pulled herself away from me with a smile on her face. She pulled me towards her with a sense of fierceness. I could feel her longing, her desire. It was electrifying. I took her hands in mine to raise them above her head when she winced in pain. I immediately pulled away from her and opened her hands towards me. Her right palm was cut with a bit of blood flowing from the wound.

"Bella, you're hurt!" I exclaimed, leaping up from the futon and raced towards the bathroom, dragging Bella behind me. "We'll get this bandaged up."

I began shuffling through what little I had in the bathroom. I must not have been paying much attention because pain suddenly shot through my right hand. I cursed under my breath and I glanced down. Blood was now flowing from a cut in the centre of my palm.

"Now you're hurt." Bella whispered, her voice was full of concern

"Werewolf," I stated with a smirk on my face. "I'll heal quickly."

Bella glanced up at me and smiled. Our eyes never left each other. We were lost in a seemingly perfect moment together. A moment I never wanted to see end. This was how life was meant to be for us.

Bella raised her hand to my face and gently ran her thumb down my cheek. Although it was tender, there was a surge of feelings that flowed through me and I wanted to be with her more in that moment then I ever had before. I wanted to share my love with her in the most intimate of ways. I wanted her to feel what she means to me.

"Give me your hand before it heals." Bella said quietly. "I once read something..."

I hesitated but then I gave her my hand. She held it with her left hand and stared at it for a moment before finally looking back up at me. There was something different about her eyes - it was like someone lit an eternal flame within her soul.

"Jacob?" Her voice cracked.

"What is it, Bells?" I said, keeping my voice as tender as I could.

"I.. I love you."

I smiled. "I know that...."

"No. Jacob," her voice was firmer now, "I am in love with you."

My heart soared. Bella was in love with me! A smile grew on my face that I never imagined was possible. I scooped her up in my arms and spun her around in the hallway, causing her to giggle.

"Jake?" She whispered softly.

"Yeah?"

"Put me down." She laughed - her voice was like a gentle song. "I wasn't finished."

I nodded and carried her into the master bedroom. I remembered having bandages in there. Once in the room, I placed her down on the bed and sat down beside her. She pulled me down onto the bed beside her and laid on her side. I did the same.

Bella took my injured hand a then looked at her own. "I once read something when I was younger. My mom was big into new age stuff that I never believed in because the supernatural never existed."

I laughed at her sarcastic comment. I didn't mean to, I suppose it was simply reflex. Bella didn't seem to mind, she laughed as well. My Bella was finally the girl I fell in love with when I was ten. The darkness that once loomed over her was gone.

"There was this ritual for people who don't believe in marriage or weren't ready but still wanted to be one with someone. There's two parts to it, both of which are very important and the ritual cannot be completed until both have happened."

I nodded, hanging on to her every word. "Okay. What are they?"

She smiled at my interest in it. "Is this something you want to do?"

"Bells, hunny," I said gently as I ran my hand down her side. "I will do what ever you want me to do."

She blushed. "The first part is the blood. We cut our hands, which is already done, then put our hands together, letting the blood mix a little and then say something."

I nodded as she raised her cut hand. I followed suit then we clasped our hands together.

"I Isabella Marie Swan bond myself to thee." Bella's face was beaming and I could've swarn that I saw a tear welt up in her eyes.

"I Jacob Black bond myself to thee." I said with a smile. "Forever."

Suddenly, a brilliant light filled the room. A surge of incredible strength pulsed through my body in a furry. The light held us there for a moment before finally disappearing. Bella and I looked at each other, both of us breathing heavily from whatever it was that just happened. I thought the pull I had to Bella when I imprinted was intense, however, this new found pull, this heightened attachment was unlike anything I had ever felt before. When I imprinted, it felt as if I was a part of Bella but now, I felt like I truly was one with her.

"Wow."

Was all I could muster in reaction. Bella was now laying on the small bed on her back, looking up at me with such love and tenderness in her eyes. I gave her the smirk that I knew she loved before leaning down to kiss her. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her lips deeper into my mine. As much as I wanted to lose myself in her arms right now, I remembered that she mentioned the fact that this ritual had two parts to it. Although I was hopeful, I wasn't going to hold my breath. I wasn't going to get that kind of experience for a very long time and I guess I was okay with it. I had Bella, what more could I honestly ask for?

I pulled away from her and kissed the tip of her nose. "What's the second thing that needs to be done?"

She gave me an evil grin. I was confused with her answer and maybe even a little scared. Her heavenly kiss soothed my fears; allowing me to relax a little bit.

I let her continue to kiss me. I figured that it wasn't that important; besides this was the best kind of distraction. She ran her hand across my shoulder and down my side, sending shudders down my spine. In a swift movement she grabbed the top of my sweat pants at the side, raised her knee into a bended position and pulled me into her deeply. I let out a gasp in surprise.

"Bella?" I asked breathlessly

She gave me an undeniably sexy smile that told me it all. My body trembled a little bit - for once not from the instincts of phasing but for the sheer desire for the beautiful woman pressed up against me. I swallowed hard as my nerves began to work up a frenzy. I had been waiting for this moment since I was fifteen years old and I saw her for the first time in years on the beach with her friends. She barely remembered me but I knew who she was perfectly. She stopped hanging out with me when she was eleven or twelve and even before then it was only a few times over the month she was here. Each summer she had to be reintroduced to me like I was some stranger. I didn't care; she was everything to me even then.

Now here we were, in the cabin I had rebuilt over the last few years knowing some day I would give it to her as a home. She wanted to be with me in a way that beyond words. My breathing became uneven, my nerves were giving in and the once strong werewolf was dissipating; the young teenage male was taking over.

"Jacob," she whispered softly. It was full of concern and sencerity. "We don't have too..."

I pushed my lips into hers fiercely, letting every ounce of my love and desire pour into her. She answered with the same eagerness. I pulled myself back together to be the man I knew she deserved to be with.

She gasped out in desire as my instincts took over. With each kiss I laid on her neck, her body would tremble a little more. Perhaps they had a little bit more of an animal edge to them then the average man but I knew I could control that. I only wanted Bella to feel as she should - loved, desired, like she was the only woman on this planet. In my eyes, that's exactly what she was.

"I love you." Bella whispered into my neck before kissing the line of my jaw.

"I love you too."

I finally knew heaven.

-----


	12. Chapter 10: Losing Grip

_Hello to all my fabulous readers. Now, there are a few reasons for the total lack of update which I can explain. The first is because of one of my rather devoted readers. One of them decided to start stealing a few of my ideas and begin using them in their own story. I understand that this is just fanfiction, however it is still wrong. It fustrated me to a point where I didn't want to write for a good while. I was upset and I couldn't fathom writing if it was only going to be stolen. However, I could never walk away from this story. The break actually helped clear my head and I developed so much more in terms of storyline. Everything happens for a reason, I suppose. _

_During that time I read a lot of Bella and Jacob stories that were all simply incredible. I have them all on my blackberry bookmarks. I haven't been able to add them through my favorites on here through my Blackberry however, I can list some of them. _

_"Passenger" by VanessaLoveJoy_

_"Hear You Breathe" by playstandards_

_"Light Amongst the Darkness" by pooks79_

_"In the End" by Jasperluver89_

_Please check these out!! _

_I want to say sorry in advance for the complete roughness of this chapter. With my computer being down, I had no choice but to upload this on my blackberry where I have no spell check. I tried to go through it and catch mistakes but I'm not perfect. Being midly autistic and having dyslexia makes it hard but I think it's alright. _

**Chapter 10: Losing Grip**

Bella's POV

Heaven. I believe that was the only plausable word for how I was feeling at that moment. It was incredible how much my feelings had changed over the last few months and how fast life can change. I opened my eyes and tried to get a better look at the room around me. Jacob had sensed Edward and ran until we arrived here. He called it his home away from home, which left me confused. In all this time I had been around him, I never knew this cabin existed. It had a hominess to it that reminded me much of Jacob. This room had a perfect amount of nature in it. The king-sized bed was hand carved, probably by Jacob and featured beautiful Native markings. The walls were painted a pale brown Earthy tone. Other than the bed, the only other furniture was hand carved his and her dressers on either side of the bed.

I smiled. One thing I loved about Jacob was that he truly was a man of the Earth. He believed that there were many things life that didn't have to be purchased in a store - most furniture was included in that. When I had first heard that, I thought it was a little crazy until I really stopped and thought about it. There was something almost perfect about a man who could create such beauty with their hands.

Jacob was much more of a simple man that Edward was, which flowed with my personality a lot better. Everything was always extravagant with Edward; always expensive. He hated my truck with a passion while I loved it. It suited me quite well. Stop to think about it, Jacob rebuilt that engine with his own hands. Perhaps that's why I've always been so attached to that old Chevy.

I glanced up at the young man who's arms were holding me hostage; it was simply perfection. While he slept, he looked just like he should at sixteen. Just a few hours ago, he was anything but sixteen. Although he was gentle and incredibly nervous, his Alpha qualities shined through. Not that I had could complain, I had never felt love that powerful before. I always knew Jacob was madly in love with me but I had no idea how much.

This is how my life was meant to be had my life gone the natural route without vampires or the supernatural. Being with him was effortless; it was easier then breathing. He truly was my sun.

I snuggled into his chest a little more only to wind up on my stomach, on top of Jacob. He was looking up at me with that confident smirk that I loved so much.

"Hello beautiful." His voice was full of tenderness; any hint of Alpha was gone. "I love you, you know that?"

I kissed the top of his nose and then his lips. "I never realized how much until today."

"I can say the same thing, y'know," he stated. I looked at him confused. "That was mind blowing, Bells and I'm not just talking physically. It didn't feel like just sex. I truly felt like we were one. I know how cheesy that sounds but its true."

"That is cheesy," I said, laughing lightly. "But it is true. I really do love you."

"I know."

"So, what's the deal with this place?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I've known you how long and I've never heard you even mention this place." I said sitting up beside him. "What's the big secret?"

Jacob blushed. "This old place was abandoned by my Grandfather when my mom was a teenager. It devestated her. My dad was going to fix it up and make all the furnature himself but after she..."

Jacob paused for a moment and closed his eyes. It still hurt him a great deal to talk about his mom's death. I rested my head on his as a sign of comfort and waited for him to continue.

"He lost the desire to go through with it. The day I met you on the beach I found the papers for it," he grinned proudly. "I asked my dad about it and I asked him if I could fix it up. He told me if I did then I could have it. It was in horrible condition with mold and dirt everywhere. The walls were barely salvagable. Despite the relentless teasing from Embry and Quil, I told myself I'd fix it up and build anything I could so that I could look at you on our Wedding day and say I built us a home."

I was speechless. This had once been one of his mother's prized possesions. Everything he had done to fix this place up was for me. Even then on the beach, he had wanted to be with me. I had been so hypnotised by Edward's draw that I was blind to what had been in front of me all along. He waited for me all the time knowing I may never want to be with him. He risked the ultimate heartbreak for what could be.

I nuzzled myself into his chest and closed my eyes. No words needed to be spoken now, Jake understood that. We laid in perfect blissful silence as our hearts beated together.

Heaven was not to last. The doors to the cabin flew open with a sense of urgency. Jacob was out of the bed within seconds, a growl rumbled deep in his throat. He bolted towards to living area without a word to me. I quickly leaped off the bed and found my clothes. I could hear voices coming from the living area. It sounded like Sam. The conversation sounded anything but friendly. Perhaps it would be in my best interest to stay away from two very stubborn, very pissed off men who could turn into massive wolves in a matter of seconds.

Yeah, I decided to sit on the bed.

---

Jacob's POV

"Jacob!" Sam growled viciously at me. I knew this was coming, you don't just pull Alpha on the Alpha and not expect there to me reprecussions.

"Sam." Couldn't be more simple that that.

Sam inched closer than me, his body fuming. I quickly became impressed with how well he was controlling himself.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" He yelled at me, inching very close to the alpha yell.

I stuck my chest out and folded my arms. "I was doing what I had to do. What my instincts were telling me to do."

"You disobeyed me and you gave the pack an Alpha command!" Sam snapped at me; I held my ground. "You are not the Alpha, Jacob, regardless of what your birth right says. You haven't made an effort to claim that right. It's not something you can do the moment you decide to be in charge."

I stood there, holding my stance. I didn't move. I didn't speak. I simply stared at Sam in front of me. Truth be told, I had no idea why I was acting the way I was. All I did know was that something in my mind was telling me to do this. To stand my ground against Sam; I couldn't just let him walk all over me.

"Are you going to ignore me, Jacob?" His voice was laced with venom; I was beginning to get under his skin, which only made me smirk.

"Are you going to stop yelling at me, Sam?" I snapped back.

He raised his eye brow at me. "Knock this behaviour off right now. We have an issue. It would seem that Edward left Forks last night but has made his return, this time with Renee in tow..."

"Renee?" I asked, panic finding its way into my voice. "Bella's mom Renee?"

Sam nodded. "I'm afraid so. We believe he's going to try to do with Renee what he did with Charlie."

"Then let's go..." I said as I headed towards the door, only to be stopped by Sam.

"No, Jacob, we're not doing it like that this time." Sam's voice was firm. "Paul was hurt pretty bad. So were you. We can't afford anymore injuries."

"What are we going to do? Sit around with our thumbs up our asses?" I yelled, louder than I had first expected. "This is our job!"

"NO!" There was the Alpha voice I was expecting. "We must first consult the Elders."

I looked at Sam in complete disbelief. I went to say something when I noticed the entire pack, sans Paul, was standing outside no doubt listening to this fight.

"The Edlers?" My voice had dropped, almost to a whisper. "There is a human life at stake and you want to consult the Edlers? By the time we do that, Renee will be dead! Edward is NOT playing around."

"That's a risk we have to take, Jake." Sam's voice softened up as he tried to get through to me. "My pack and the people of our trible are our first priority. You're letting your heart cloud your judgement."

That was it. That was the final straw.

"Our tribe is our people!" I shouted louder than I ever think I have before. I took a deep breath and lowered my voice. "Bella is my imprint and therefore one of our people."

"It doesn't always work that way..."

"It doesn't?" I cut him off. "If this was Emily's family then you'd be ripping everyone heads off until you knew they were safe."

"We've already risked enough for Bella!" Sam returned the yell this time. "I am not going to risk more of my pack members to protect her unless it's necessary! This is trouble she got herself into when she fell in love with that bloodsucker. She was asking for this to happen."

I ran from the house. It was the only option I had. I leaped over the rail to the porch I had recently built, phasing on the fly and landed facing the cabin. The pain was unbearable. I wasn't completely healed from my injuries and I knew the Doc was going to give me a lecture but I really didn't care. Sam had followed behind me and was now no more that five feet away from me in wolf form. The other members of the pack phased, probably to find out what was going on between Sam and I. I started thinking about what just conspired between the two of us.

"Wow." Embry's voice was the first to enter my head.

"Jacob!" That was Seth, I knew this was coming. "Are you crazy?! Doctor Cullen told you not to phase until you were healed!"

"Not now, Seth." My voice was soft with him

"Jacob, you're not thinking straight." Sam was trying to reason with me.

"There's an innocent life at stake!" I snapped

"Sam is right, Jake." Shut up Jared, always having to kiss ass. "I'm speaking for what is right. This is all happening in Cullen territory. We tried to help and our men were injuried."

"Let them deal with it until the Elders tell us otherwise." Sam was firm

"I don't care what the Elders think." I could hear the muffled voices of the packs disbelief but I ignored them. "I'm helping save Renee."

"No you will not!"

That was Sam's Alpha order. The entire pack felt its affect. Everyone but me; I refused to let it turn me into a slave. This was my birth right.

"Back off, Jacob or we will be forced to acknowledge that they broke the treaty and we will attack." I could tell by his tone that Sam wasn't joking.

I growled violently. The Cullen's saved a life and I had given them permission to break the treaty. Sam was doing this because he knew I would never challenge him for the Alpha role, even if it was my birth right. I noticed Bella standing on the porch watching us intentively. The image of Bella having to deal with her mothers death filled my mind. I knew what it felt like to lose a parent; I would be damned if I let that happen to Bella.

"Jacob, you will back down _now_!"

I growled and leaped on my hind legs. I had become tired of that Alpha command and I wasn't going to take it anymore.

"Get into the formations given to you earlier." Sam ordered. I could feel the pack buckle to his voice. "We'll attack the Cullen's tonight."

I snarled at Sam. "You will leave the Cullen's alone!"

In that moment, I felt my body grow larger, beyond Sam's size. I felt the entire pack, including Sam buckle under my command. I hated doing that. I didn't want to be Alpha but I also refused to let Sam do something stupid and uncalled for.

"I will never fight you, Sam." I thought calmly. "But I will not stand here and follow you into something that is wrong. The Cullen's broke the treaty to save a life and if you attack them then you will have to kill me before you even consider getting near them."

Without another word, I barked at Bella and nudged towards the truck. Bella nodded and I used my large neck to motion in the direction of the mansion. I then took off, abandoning my pack.

Their voices slowly faded from my mind. I was free to make my own decisions for once. Bella was my life now and nothing was ever going to hurt her again.

----------

Bella's POV

I knew something terrible was happening, however, I had no idea what it was. I watched as the obvious confrontation occured between the wolves. Jacob was disagreeing with something that Sam seemed pretty intense about. I also knew it had something to do with me. Jacob wouldn't be this intense about something unless I was involved. Well, other then his hatred for vampires but I don't see why they would be fighting about that. Unless Sam changed his mind about Carlisle breaking the treaty to save Charlie. Jacob gave him to the go ahead as the rightful Alpha. Sam couldn't argue with that, could he?

Well, duh, of course he did because he was the Alpha at the moment and Jacob did disobeyed him. Weren't the wolves all about protecting human life? Isn't that what Carlisle did? Why would Sam be so upset about that? Jacob was only doing what they are meant to do.

I watched as Jacob bolted towards the Cullen's residence and some how I could tell something was different now between Jacob and the wolves. Did he abandon them? Did Jacob become a rouge wolf because of all of this? Judging by the look I was getting from Sam and the other wolves, I would say so. Sam growled and moved towards me, I tensed up. I knew he would never attack me but that doesn't mean he wouldn't let me have it in wolf form. He inched closer but suddenly whipped around to face Seth, the youngest member of the pack. He was growling at Sam - I believe he was taking sides with Jacob. Sam stood up straight in that intimidating alpha stance in front of Seth. I cringed as Seth was forced to conform. What I wasn't expecting however, was Leah.

I have no idea what was said or what was going on but whatever it was, Leah wasn't thrilled about it one little bit. She attacked Sam. I took this bit as my cue to leave; this would probably get out of control and I didn't want to be anywhere near it when fur started to really fly.

I raced to my truck and drove off as fast I could towards the Cullen residence. Jacob would never turn his back on his pack unless he had good reasoning, which only made me worry that much more.

When I approached the Cullen's place, Jacob was standing there talking too Carlisle, Seth and Leah in wolf form behind Jacob. I wondered why they were there but I figured I wouldn't press it right now. Leah looked at me and whined sadly, I knew at that moment something was terribly wrong.

"Bella..." Alice's voice cracked; If a vampire could cry, Alice wouldve been sobbing.

"What's going on?" I asked

Before anyone could answer me, I could hear a sinister voice laughing heartidly. We all spung around to see Edward standing at the top of the driveway with his arm around the throat of...

"MOM!" I shouted, running towards Edward and my mom, only to be stopped by Emmett.

"Bella, don't be crazy!" He snapped at me

"Oh, my dear Bella, I am so glad I finally managed to get your attention." Edward sneared

"You son of a bitch!" I snapped harshily. "You let my mother go now!"

"Bella..." The voice belonged to my mother.

Her voice was strained as she tried to speak. Tears wealted in her eyes as fear took over her body. My heart broke for her; I collapsed onto the floor as my own sorrows escaped my body.

"Don't do this, Edward," Esme pleaded with her once dear son. "We cannot protect you from the wolves as it stands now. Do not make matters worse for you."

Edward laughed as he tightened his grip on Renee causing her to start turning red. "Oh, I think I do."

"Stop," my voice was a whisper but I knew he could hear me. "What do you want from me?"

"You."

"Will you leave Forks and stay away for good if I go with you?" I choked out

"Yes."

"Bella! Don't!" Jake shouted when he was suddenly grabbed by Demetri and held into place.

"Let her go." I whispered as tears began to fall from my eyes.

I stood up and pulled away from Emmett. I started walking towards Edward. I never put much thought into how I would die but I couldn't think of any better way to go than in the place of someone I loved.

Everything that happened after that was a blur. The only thing I remember before my world went black was a sharp pain shooting through me, Renee yelling my name and Jacob's pain-ridden screams.

-------

_Well, there you have it. I appologise again for how rough this actually is. With my computer being in hell and not having access to word, this is the only way for me to update. _

_Now, the next chapter... I am not sure how to do it. It's written from a different POV that I haven't used yet so I am not sure if I am going to leave it as is or if I am going to make it a one shot companion piece. Keep your eyes open. _

_I appreciate the paitence with the lack of updating. What my reader did... It's really tough as a writer. Thank you for understanding and I promise I will TRY to update more often. _


	13. Sorry!

Hello my wonderful readers!

I know I pretty much fell off the face of the planet with this story and I'm kicking myself for it. Since I last updated it, my marriage fell into shambles (we literally broke up the day after I published the last chapter) and adjusting to life on my own (well, with my son) got in the way. I have recently come back into writing. I am currently writing a story for the show "Glee" and would also like to revitalize this one. However, I need to know whether or not anyone is still interested in reading it. Please message me or write me a review letting me know. If there is some interest, then I will be more than happy to do as such.

Thanks guys and I am so very sorry!


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